Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj Preform at the United Center

The lights were off. The crowd was focused on the pitch-black stage, in preparation for Lil Wayne’s arrival. All was quiet and solemn in the audience until… “WHADDUP!” yelled Lil Wayne, his voice raspy and arms out in a wave, as the spotlights glimmered around him like a halo. He entered his concert at the United Center on Friday, April 1, with a full-faced grin, tremendous confidence, and an obvious dedication to his fans. Wayne started and ended his set by telling the audience, “Number one, I love god. Number two, I am nothing without you. And number three, I am nothing without you!” This caused a giddy uproar among the fans, which began hollering, stomping, yelling and even crying. There was something special about that performance: being able to view the way Lil Wayne touched the hearts of everybody in the audience.

However, the concert was not just Wayne’s. The opening acts were Rick Ross and Travis Barkley, and Nicki Minaj who sang with Wayne and performed hits from her album, Pink Friday. Her posse of dancers, bubble gum pink hair, glittery pink gown and commanding stage presence made the show even more fantastic. She held the crowd’s full attention during every song she performed.

Rita Haber, a senior at Urbana High School, also attended the concert. Haber said, “Beyond the music and light show, a big part of the experience at the United Center was people watching. There were a lot of girls with homage to Minaj’s haircuts. I saw one girl whose gold dress was so short, it was practically up to her belly button.” Like Haber said, it was quite apparent that half of the girls at the concert were either trying to look like Minaj, while the other half held up signs with their phone numbers to show off to Lil Wayne. The level of dedication these fans had for the performers was incredible.

Overall, it seems that the crowd was quite pleased with Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne’s performances. Fans went wild listening to their live music in a different way than just hearing a recording of one of their songs. Every time Lil Wayne got on stage to rap, the glimmer in every single audience’s eyes were apparent. He must be a truly great performer if he is capable of influencing millions of lives by rapping about the struggles he’s overcome. Minaj gave a great performance as well; especially for being a woman in competition with hip hop superstars like Wayne. If there’s one thing they both showed at the concert, it was the ability to relate to each audience member. This is a quality that not every performer has, and it’s the reason that both of them will continue to be successful and give mind-blowing concerts in their exciting futures.