Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj held it down at the VMAs on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. There’s no doubt the two became fixtures at the annual award show throughout its history, delivering memorable moments and sound bites that have lived on in the years that followed. However, on Tuesday night, their presence was surely felt from the moment the show began. Lil Wayne entered the stage to perform a medley of songs including “Uproar” and his latest single, “Kat Food.”
As for Nicki Minaj, she served as the host for the evening. However, her appearance certainly wasn’t limited to that. While she did get to guide fans through the evening, she eventually hit the stage where she performed her new single, “Last Time I Saw You,” and debuted an unreleased song from the upcoming Pink Friday 2 titled, “Big Difference.” Still, she hit the stage later on to pay homage to hip-hop’s major milestone.
VMAs Celebrate Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary
With Hip Hop 50 celebrations still underway, the VMAs came through with an impeccable way to honor the music that’s shaped its history with appearances from Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. The tribute closed out Tuesday night’s festivities, dedicating the final moments of the VMAs to the evolution of the culture. Along with Wayne and Nicki, LL Cool J also headlined the performance while DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five accompanied them on stage.
The performance kicked off with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five delivering a stellar performance of “The Message.” Then, Doug E. Fresh, who hit the original Dougie, and Slick Rick came out to the stage. Nicki Minaj came out to perform “Itty Bitty Piggy” -- clearly a fan favorite by the way the crowd finished each bar. Nicki then dove into “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” afterward before the VMAs transitioned to Lil Wayne who performed “A Milli.” LL Cool J leaped into “I’m Bad” and “Mama Said Knock You Out” before sticking around for DMC’s performance.