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Nicki Minaj, 39, made a lasting impression as a headline performer at the Essence Music Festival on July 1! The rapper took the stage in a sexy Catwoman inspired outfit as she entertained the New Orleans, LA crowd of music fans at Caesars Superdome. The superstar channeled Halle Berry‘s 2004 film for the dramatic opening, which included a face cover and cat ears as she writhed around the stage in a latex bodysuit with gloves. During the set, she performed all her major hits like “Beez in the Trap,” and “Moment 4 Life,” even bringing out Lil’ Wayne for throwback hit “High School.”
In addition to Nicki, the headliners of this year’s Essence Music Festival included Janet Jackson and New Edition. The popular event went on hiatus for two years as the world battled the COVID pandemic, but the incredible talent for its comeback show proves the festival is still at its peak. The multi-day event, which is presented by Coca-Cola, launched with Kevin Hart’s Reality Check at NOLA’s Smoothie King Center on June 30, and other performers set to appear during the three days of entertainment include Beenie Man, Mickie Guyton, Kes and Machel Montano.
Before Nicki and other talented stars took the stage at the festival, she made headlines for sharing a gorgeous video of herself flaunting a pink swimsuit. She was relaxing outside in water in the stylish cut-out piece, which was shown in a TikTok video that’s posted below, at the end of May. She posed and danced as she flashed a smile to the camera and looked as cool as could be.
When Nicki’s not performing or strutting her stuff on social media, she’s spending time with her family. The beauty shares a one-year-old son, whom she lovingly calls “Papa Bear,” with her husband Kenneth Petty, and sometimes posts moments with him on her Instagram page. In one recent video, the adorable tot pretended to ignore her while sitting in a stroller.
“Every day papa 🧸 makes me call him so he can ignore me & look @ me from the corner of his eye. Just so I can keep saying ‘I see you’ and he can pull the covers or curtains over his face & hide from me. 🙈🤫👀 first I used to rlly think he was just zoning out & not hearing me & I got a lil worried. But no it’s just him thinking he a lil comedian or smthn. Lol this boy. Mama loves you so much Papa 😘,” she wrote in the caption for the video.