A fiery personality combined with flashy costumes, talented dancers and award-winning music is sure to make Saturday’s Nicki Minaj concert a lively and entertaining performance.
The Pinkprint tour, stopping at First Niagara Pavilion, will bring along an impressive set of openers, each promoting their latest work: hip-hop artists Meek Mill (“Dreams Worth More Than Money”) and Rae Sremmurd (“SremmLife”), and R&B artists Tinashe (“Aquarius”) and Dej Loaf (“Sell Sole”).
The tour has already made stops in Europe, Canada and the U.S. and has had reviews praising the “Anaconda” singer for her skill as a performer and a rapper. The show will highlight songs such as “Truffle Butter,” “Feeling Myself” and “Anaconda” off the singer’s 2014 album, “The Pinkprint,” while drawing from Minaj’s previous work like “Super Bass” and “Starships.”
“The Pinkprint” debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and held that position for three weeks before falling to No. 3. The album also was the second highest in first-week sales for a female artist in 2014 and second highest in first week sales for a rap artist in 2014.
Perhaps as unique and recognizable as her music, Minaj’s outfits have been talked about worldwide. Described as toeing the line between a barbie and a ballerina, the artist has been changing outfits four times throughout her set to go along with the different segments of her show.
Minaj’s prowess as a performer should make the show spectacular: her ability to move an audience with a stroll down the stage or a flash of her eyes, her crowd-pleasing bumping and grinding on songs ranging from emotional ballads such “The Crying Game” to high-energy hip-hop “Pound the Alarm.”
This year, Ms. Minaj has won the MTV award for best hip-hop, the BET award for best female hip-hop artist and the BET viewers’ choice award for “Only.”
Amy Brooks: abrooks@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1408.
First Published: August 6, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
