Nicki Minaj After an evening stuffed with classic island vibes courtesy of Kes and Machel Montano, and late 90’s Hip-Hop courtesy of The Fugees and Nas, headliner Nicki Minaj reigned over the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture concert principal stage with an hour-long set stuffed with every part from her chart-topping smash hits to her fan-favorite classics as she made her highly-anticipated return.

This was Nicki’s first-ever appearance on the ESSENCE stage, and he or she surely exceeded fans’ expectations as they packed out Recent Orleans’ Caesar’s Superdome on Friday night.

After about 45 minutes of anticipation, the stadium lights dimmed as Terrence J announced the Queen’s arrival. Donning a blonde ponytail wig and sheer shroud covering a skintight black crushed velvet outfit, the many-monikered rap superstar took the stage to a cacophony of screams from her loyal barbs, launching directly right into a high-energy rendition of her latest hit, “Do We Have A Problem,” followed by her verse on Fivio Foreign’s “We Go Up.”

Nicki surprised the gang with rare performances of other catalogue classics including “Beez within the Trap, ” “Moment 4 Life,” “Did It On Em,” and more.

Nicki was, in fact, sure to bring out just a few surprise guests to affix her on-stage. Being that she was on the scene celebrating Black Joy in one among the epicenters of Black culture, Nicki couldn’t miss the chance to share the stage together with her label leader and brother in chart domination, Lil Wayne. Together, they performed hits like “High School” and their most up-to-date joint hit, “Seeing Green.”

For more of every part you missed on the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, visit our official content hub HERE.