For the past two years, Nicki Minaj has refrained from making very many public appearances as she focused on her growing family. However, tonight at Lil Baby’s Back Outside Tour stop at Staples Center in Los Angeles, she returned to the stage for the first time to perform her verses from “Seeing Green” and BIA’s “Whole Lotta Money” remix. You can watch videos captured by attendees below. The crowd goes bananas as Nicki emerges from backstage, reasserting her presence in pop culture as a rapper instead of a controversy magnet.
nicki minaj’s voice is so powerful?
— césar (@BARBIETlNGZ) September 25, 2021
Nicki Minaj Back On stage and cutting up . WE LOVE TO SEE IT ? pic.twitter.com/n25lBH50Mv
— NICKIMROOM (@NICKIMROOM) September 25, 2021
Do you hear that fucking crowd? NICKI MINAJ IS A FUCKING ICON pic.twitter.com/icrJBSeXsa
— Black Lives Still Matter (@wiz_thcreator) September 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/girlsinrap/status/1441651649404018691
spotted: nicki minaj outside for lil baby and lil durk’s back outside tour at LA’s staples center pic.twitter.com/hBxl3wfica
— AP style (@adelleplaton) September 25, 2021
Nicki’s public image could use some rehabilitation after the past few weeks. The “Seeing Green” rapper became the target of backlash and ridicule when she tweeted that she wasn’t vaccinated and shared a relative’s vaccine horror story involving a wedding getting canceled because of the groom’s swollen testes and infertility. Dr. Anthony Fauci debunked the possibility of such vaccine side effects and the Health Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, where the story supposedly took place, even held a press conference to allay the rumor after a thorough investigation.
In the midst of that firestorm, Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, who had pled guilty for failing to register as a sex offender when the couple moved to California in 2019, are being sued by Petty’s alleged 1995 victim Jennifer Hough for harassment. Hough recently appeared on The View to detail both the initial assault from 1994 and the alleged harassment that has gone on for the past two years as the couple supposedly pressured her to recant her original testimony and clear Petty’s name.
Other guests that hit the stage during Lil Baby’s show included local acts Roddy Ricch, who performed his Mustard collaboration “Ballin” and his groundbreaking 2020 hit “The Box,” and Chris Brown, who performed “Go Crazy.” You can see more videos below.
roddy rich performs “ballin'” at lil baby & friends #backoutside tour stop in LA pic.twitter.com/9HZa9ug1bS
— AP style (@adelleplaton) September 25, 2021
chris brown performs “go crazy” at the staples center for lil baby’s #backoutside show in LA pic.twitter.com/JJbXRxce9t
— AP style (@adelleplaton) September 25, 2021