If you are a Nicki Minaj fan like myself, you were tuned into this year’s MTV Video Music Awards where her performance stole the entire show. 

Minaj performed a compilation of her greatest hits: “All Things Go,” “Roman’s Revenge,” “Monster,” “Beez in the Trap,” “Chun Li,” “Moment 4 Life,” “Super Bass,” “Anaconda” and “Super Freaky Girl.” 

Minaj performed in a Barbie dollhouse where every room was inspired by the song she performed. Minaj refers to herself as Barbie and calls her fans the Barbz, so I felt like this set design was perfect! I loved it. 

The first song she performed was “All Things Go,” a slower Minaj song that highlights what she went through in her career and lifetime. It was the perfect song to start off with because it allowed the crowd to hear how far she has come in her career. 

She performed the first few lines of  “All Things Go,” before transitioning into “Roman’s Revenge” and morphing into her alter ego named Roman. Seeing Minaj perform “Roman’s Revenge” was one of my favorite parts of the performance, as it was my favorite Nicki Minaj song growing up. 

With her long pink claw-like nails and monster-inspired contact lenses, Minaj’s costume brought her verse in Kanye West’s song “Monster” to life.

The stage lights continuously flashed red and blue, which added an element of spookiness and thrill to the performance. 

Minaj performed her song “Beez in the Trap” on a hot pink throne, while backup dancers pretended to be doing the rapper’s nails.

I loved this set design, because it was girly and feminine. When you think of Barbie dolls, you often think of beauty, nails and hair. The nail shop set was the perfect addition to the Barbie house set design. 

By this time Minaj performed “Moment 4 Life,” the VMAs turned into a Nicki Minaj concert. All attendees were on their feet singing the lyrics to her song. Another crowd favorite,“Super Bass,” followed.

Dancers performed her song “Anaconda” during a brief intermission. The finale was “Super Freaky Girl,” Minaj’s first time performing the single since it hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 200. 

I felt a feeling of nostalgia watching Minaj perform. Many of the songs performed were on her debut album, which came out over a decade ago.

It was inspiring to see her music have that type of impact on a crowd nearly 12 years later. With the rap industry being a male-dominated industry, there aren’t many female rappers who have lasted as long as Minaj has. 

Minaj also won two awards for Best Hip Hop video for her song with rapper Lil Baby titled “Do We Have A Problem?” and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award.

After watching this performance, it is very apparent why Nicki Minaj is called the Queen of Rap.