The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

Wayne Shows ‘He Is Still Music’ On Tour

In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, rapper Lil’ Wayne declared he would not return to New York City where he served an eight month sentence at Riker’s Island for a gun possession charge. When asked about returning to perform in concert the “A Milli” rapper stated, “They’d have to give me U2 money” (which implies roughly two million dollars).

 Technically, Nassau Coliseum is not within the limits of New York City, and considered the home of the

Islanders, not the New York Knicks. However, the money had to be right to bring Wayne, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj to, for lack of a better term, shut the “Greater New York Area” down for their “I Am Still Music” tour.

Rick Ross opened up the festivities for the night to the crowd’s delight. The Florida-born rapper moved through his collection of albums, but none stuck out like the performance of Teflon Don. Songs like “MC

Hammer” and “B.M.F.,” are what drove Ross to his current popularity, and the crowd’s reaction assured it. “Ma-Ma-Ma-Maybach Music!” The hypnotic label call of Ross’s Maybach Music Group prepared the crowd  for every smash hit, and fans  repeated it passionately. New signees to Maybach Music’s Wale (“Chillin,” “No Hands”) and Meek Mill (“Rose Red”) also made appearances to perform with Ross and to add to an already strong section of the show.

Rick Ross would be hard to follow for most rap artists; luckily Lil’ Wayne is not the common artist. His set begins with an intro consisting of a voicemail message stating, “…the defender, Dwayne Carter is no longer in custody.” Wayne then goes on to talk about being out of jail and finishes with, “when you see the warden, tell ‘em to kiss my a**.”

From that point on the performance can be summarized as a jubilant Lil’ Wayne rapping while scantily clad dancers pranced around and Travis Barker played the drums (and yes, he killed it). Lil’ Wayne’s performance had no twist; had no turn. Instead, it was just Wayne rapping his gargantuan collection of music to a sold-out crowd. That is until he left the stage to “go change my clothes” and a robed monk walked slowly to center stage.

Fans knew Minaj was coming when the hundreds of “Barbies” would erupt in hectic and deafening shrieks for their beloved Jamaica, Queens star. Scenes from Gladiator began to play, as the robed monk threw magic dust into the air and Nicki Minaj came through the floor to the tune of “Roman’s Revenge.” To understand the power of Nicki Minaj, you must understand her followers.  

Women that ten minutes ago sat relaxed and reserved, immediately stood on chairs, got rowdy, and resembled a scene from a 90’s hip-hop video. Minaj’s 30-minute set included a bulk of songs from her album Pink Friday including “Did It On ‘Em” and “Moment 4 Life,” doing her best to keep all eyes on her and the arena rocking.

Sporting a pink and white one-piece body suit that showed off her notorious curves, she succeeded. One of many memorable moments was her lap dance on Wayne.

Lil’ Wayne came back out after Minaj to bring the show to a finish. He performed with some of the other Young Money artists such as Lil’ Twist, Jae Millz, and Mack Maine. Other guest performers during the show included: Ludacris, DJ Khaled and Busta Rhymes. Wayne saved the best for last and finished with “6 Foot, 7 Foot.” With no shirt, ruthless rapping and the aid of new signee Corey Gunz, the show was finished and the verdict was certain. He came, he saw, and he put on a great show.

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