Nicki Minaj Surprises Crowd With Cyndi Lauper Duet At Pink Friday 2 Tour Stop In NYC
Nicki Minaj didn’t hold back when it came to the hometown tour stop of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour.
On Wednesday (May 1), the Queens native took over the Barclays Center and gagged the crowd with a surprise performance from Cyndi Lauper in a mashup of “Pink Friday Girls” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”
The women mutually praised one another as they bowed and hugged. “Make some noise for this icon, this legend,” said Minaj to the crowd of screaming fans. The women later did a quick live rendition of another Lauper classic, “True Colors.”
When addressing the audience, Minaj expressed, “Don’t wait until we’re not here to give us our flowers. God bless this woman. Thank you Cyndi; we love you […] I have been speaking about this woman in my interviews since I first began rapping. I never in a million years thought I’d be back rapping in New York with Cyndi Lauper.”
This isn’t the first time the rapper has spoken on the impact Lauper has had on her career. In 2009, Minaj tweeted, “Cyndi lauper made my 3 fave songs of all time. True colors, time after time and girlz jus wanna have fun. Genius.” The following year, she and Katy Perry paid tribute to Lauper in a special performance of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” for VH1 Divas Salute the Troops.
Minaj and Lauper finally met at the 2010 Grammys. “This is crazy. People don’t know how obsessed I am with you,” the rapper said to the fellow New York native before referring to Lauper as “one of my fashion icons.”
Other surprise guests of the night included Young M.A and Kai Cenat. Minaj labeled the tour a “history-making” one. Check out highlights above.