Rarely does absence make this much noise. After legendary MC Nas closed out his set at Essence Fest 2022, the tension ramped up, up and up at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans — for about an hour and a half, in fact.
As festival headliner Nicki Minaj overshot her scheduled performance by a decent stretch, it's hard to articulate how much expectant energy was in the air — both in the raucous stadium and on social media. Inside Caesars Superdome, scores of devoted fans of Black music and culture got very animated to jams like F.L.Y.'s "Swag Surfin'" and Meek Mill's "Dreams and Nightmares." On Twitter, the reaction ranged from fragile hope to bouts of frustration.
By the time the 10-time GRAMMY nominee did show up — past midnight — some folks opted to hit the clattering streets of the Big Easy and turn in instead. But what a show they missed.
In a video opening, Minaj cavorted around as a latexed Catwoman. When she hit the stage, flanked by dancers, she tore into some of her biggest hits — beginning with her 2022 joint with Lil Baby, "Do We Have a Problem?", followed by her verse on Fivio Foreign's "We Go Up."
Subsequently, fans got "Beez in the Trap," from 2012's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and "Flawless Remix," originally with Beyoncé. And perhaps the biggest surprise of all — a tie with Wyclef Jean bringing out Fugees cohort Lauryn Hill earlier in the night — was guest and New Orleans’ native son Lil Wayne, who tore it up with Minaj on "Seeing Green," "High School" and "Truffle Butter."
The long wait led to an ever more generous show: Minaj capped off her headlining set with her immortal "Super Bass," followed by "Moment 4 Life."
But really, the wait was symbolic in multiple senses: This was the first Essence Fest to take place since pre-pandemic days in 2019. And if anybody can bring it back with a bang, it's Nicki Minaj, the Head Barbie in Charge — even if it means staying up past our bedtimes.
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