Live Dancehall Medley (2012)
No matter how high Nicki Minaj’s career has peaked, her regional acceptance, specifically amongst people with Caribbean heritage, has to be counted among her greatest achievements. When she took the stage at 2012’s Barclaycard Wireless Festival in London, she was welcomed with open arms by an audience clearly versed in the same set of Caribbean music touchstones she did coming up in New York. Not to be outdone by fellow island gyal Rihanna (who performed her own rude gal anthem “Man Down” at the same fest), she brought an all-out dancehall medley that sandwiched bits of Tony Matterhorn’s “Dutty Wine” and Beenie Man’s “Who Am I” with her “Hold You” freestyle, and her verse on Sean Kingston’s “Letting Go (Dutty Love),” rapped a capella along with the island crew in the audience. —Richard “Treats” Dryden