Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.\u201cAre you ready for the queen?\u201d Nicki Minaj\u2019s warm-up DJ cried at 9.04pm. A rousing cheer from 20,000 Barbz \u2014 that\u2019s what her fans are called \u2014 answered in the affirmative. But was the queen of rap ready for London\u2019s O2 Arena?\u00a0Minaj hadn\u2019t turned up for her first UK date at Manchester a few days previously after marijuana was allegedly found in her luggage at Amsterdam\u2019s Schiphol airport. She was detained for over five hours by Dutch authorities and fined. The drama unfolded live on the rapper\u2019s Instagram feed, filmed by herself. \u201cI need a lawyer present,\u201d she told the flatland feds in pure New York-ese as they ushered her to a police van. When she finally made it to the UK, Barbz gathered outside her hotel chanting: \u201cNicki\u2019s free!\u201d\u00a0At the O2 Arena, there were 15 minutes of dead time after her DJ exited the stage. A mild hubbub filled the air while the Barbz swapped chit-chat as though at a giant cocktail party. Most wore pink, Nicki\u2019s signature colour. Mainly female, with a constituency of gay men too, they made your correspondent feel like Methuselah. Many would have been small children when their heroine, 41, first made her chart breakthrough in 2010. In keeping with her hit \u201cThe Night Is Still Young\u201d, Minaj has unlocked pop\u2019s secret of eternal youth: regular infusions of teenage followers.At 9.20pm, the hubbub switched to screaming as the rapper finally made her entrance. She stood in the centre of an elaborate stage set with staircases leading to two platforms and a set of backing screens in the shape of skyscrapers. A synthesiser fanfare rang out as she performed \u201cI\u2019m the Best\u201d, a calling-card from her 2010 debut album Pink Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s just me in my prime,\u201d she rapped amid sparkling lights and a firework-like fusillade of beats.First uttered 14 years ago, the boast still rings true. Minaj\u2019s current tour is the highest-grossing ever by a female rapper, with a forecast take of over $100mn. Her latest album Pink Friday 2 is an interminable slog, but the Barbz have hugged it close to their pink hearts. It was filleted for its better tracks during an opening sequence of full-throttle rap numbers, which Minaj dispatched with brio.\u00a0She wore a bodysuit, thigh-high boots, a lustrous wig and long fake nails. Her poses were a cartoon cabaret of femininity: hand on hip, wide-eyed looks, dainty footsteps. Her rap style was harder-edged, mixing no-nonsense Noo Yawk toughness with expressive shifts in pace and accent. Live music was provided by a drummer, keyboardist and backing singer, mixed with pre-recorded beats and vocals. Dancers in sci-fi outfits cavorted around the star.There was a futuristic theme, but it was as skimpy as Minaj\u2019s various outfits; something to do with an AI-generated metropolis called Gag City. The energy level oscillated wildly. There were thumb-twiddling interludes while Minaj changed costume (including two new ones for London, a diaphanous black affair and a red bodysuit). Then she would reappear, sparking an electric atmosphere. Vulgar hits resembling comedy novelty songs \u2014 yes \u201cAnaconda\u201d, I\u2019m looking at you \u2014 were greeted like standards from the Great American Songbook.The venue\u2019s usual 11pm curfew was regally brushed aside as a series of guests made surprise appearances. London rapper Giggs did a solo rendition of his UK rap classic \u201cTalkin\u2019 da Hardest\u201d. Jamaican-UK dancehall MC Stylo G duetted with Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and moved to New York aged five. Her Caribbean background was further highlighted by\u00a0the arrival of her musical hero, veteran dancehall star Beenie Man, who performed a medley of songs while she danced and sang along.She ended at 11.36pm, long after the curfew (another potential fine incoming). The finale was the unstoppable EDM leviathan, \u201cStarships\u201d, which she recently claimed she was bored of and never wanted to play again. The Barbz reacted ecstatically. Missing in action in Manchester, the queen of rap pulled out the stops in London.\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606nickiminajofficial.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.\u201cAre you ready for the queen?\u201d Nicki Minaj\u2019s warm-up DJ cried at 9.04pm. A rousing cheer from 20,000 Barbz \u2014 that\u2019s what her fans are called<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-92909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92909"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92910,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92909\/revisions\/92910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}