The rap industry’s leading lady, Nicki Minaj gave riled up fans at a pseudo-concert as her tour made its way into the DC Star over the weekend. Hosted by the always energetic, UK Sensation, with a fifteen minute opening act by Alja Jackson, anxious fans lined the block for hours waiting for the opportunity to file in and show their love for Hip-Hop’s #1 female.

In the first headlining tour of her young career, the show exhibited a lack of depth that could be expected from an event that bares the title ‘concert’. The crowd was there, as were massive clouds smoke, flashing lights, and security — an abundance of security — but there would be no singing along, and very little dancing. Ticket holders and attendees whom waited into the early AM hours of the morning were treated to a 20 plus minute performance set of the Mix tape Queen bursting out her cameo verses from the many collaborative hip-hop hits from which she has appeared.

There is no doubt the crowd at the intimate DC Star enjoyed every signature pitch, and octave change, as she cakewalked through verses from hit singles such as Diddy’s “Hello…Good morning”, Ludacris’ “My Chic Bad,” and Lloyd’s “Bedrock.” For those looking to get lost in mindless lyrics and sexy presentation, Minaj delivered, especially during her infectious verse of “Bottoms Up.” For the meat-and-potatoes crowd, there was little sustenance in this show. There weren’t so many professional backups on stage with her, as there were random people — perhaps friends — swaying and occasionally flailing their arms. She was also flanked by a hype man promoting Pink Friday via tee shirt.

Many in attendance anxiously hoping to catch a single or a sample from ‘Pink Friday’ — Nicki Minaj’s solo debut, set to hit stores on November 22 — were left waiting in the wings, as Minaj made no mention or promotional push of the album during the show. It was unfortunate for those in attendance, that were looking for that little something extra, as they will now have to wait until she builds a substantial amount of solo material, or Pink Friday, which ever comes first.

As one of the music industry’s most polarizing artists, it’s only right Nicki Minaj have an unorthodox album cover to match a kooky image. Fans and critics were left both impressed and confused after viewing the 25-year-old’s femcee’s album art for Pink Friday last Monday. Taking a minimalist approach, Minaj looked like a Tim Burton special, flaunting spider-like stems, mime expression, and… no arms.

“[Nicki] wanted to rip her arms off to really do the whole Barbie theme, like when little girls trash their dolls,” says photographer GL Wood. “She wanted to look like one of those broken Barbies.”

Mission accomplished. Woods, who took similar shots of Minaj in the October issue of Out magazine says the rapper was inspired by their original shoot and wanted to go in the same direction but crazier.
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Narrated by the one and only Nicki Minaj.

This is not a song off of “Pink Friday” but featured on DJ Haze’s ‘Still Countin’ Money 3′.