Saudi Arabia has said hip-hop star Nicki Minaj will be performing there in the latest eye-popping announcement as the kingdom sheds decades of restrictions on entertainment.
The female rapper, who often performs in her underwear, is known for her outlandish style and raunchy lyrics in hits like the chart-topping Anaconda, where she compares male genitalia to a snake and raps about how men love her ‘fat a**’.
Her lyrics are often laced with profanities and feature extreme sexual references.
Saudi Arabia has said hip-hop star Nicki Minaj will be performing there in the latest eye-popping announcement as the kingdom sheds decades of restrictions on entertainment. The female rapper, who often performs in her underwear, is known for her outlandish style and raunchy lyrics hits like Anaconda, where she compares male genitalia to a snake and raps about how men love her ‘fat a**’. Pictured: The Grammy-nominated star in her new video, Megatron
In 2012, she was criticised by Christian groups for her 2012 Grammy Awards performance that included dancing priests and an exorcism.
She arrived at the event with a man dressed as the pope and wore a red dress with a hood that’s been likened to the Martha’s from the Handmaid’s Tale, Little Red Riding Hood and a nun.
Saudi organisers announced she will be the headline act at the Jeddah World Fest on July 18, which is being broadcast globally and covered by MTV.
To boost tourism and Saudi Arabia’s image, the kingdom is promising quick electronic visas for international visitors who want to attend.
In 2012, she was criticised by Christian groups for her 2012 Grammy Awards performance that included dancing priests and an exorcism
She arrived at the event with a man dressed as the pope and wore a red dress with a hood that’s been likened to the Martha’s from the Handmaid’s Tale, Little Red Riding Hood and a nun
Such concerts are a stark change from when Saudi morality police would raid establishments that played loud music.
Raed Abuzinada, sector development chief of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority and director general of Jeddah Season, said the festival would be ‘the biggest event of its kind’.
He added to Arab News: ‘There is a stereotype of the Kingdom all over the world, and today it is disappearing. In its place is a new picture of the Kingdom, that accepts everyone’.
Such concerts are a stark change from when Saudi morality police would raid establishments that played loud music. It is not known if Minaj (pictured in her new video, Megatron) who often performs in her underwear, will need to dress conservatively for the performance
Speaking of Nicki Minaj, (pictured in video for Megatron), event organiser Robert Quirke saidd: ‘She is an absolute global icon. She has 130 million followers on Instagram, she is considered one of the top 10 female performers of all time, she’s had multiple awards and she’ll have her new album come out this year’
Robert Quirke, president of event organiser Roqu Media International, said: ‘What makes this project unique among every other project in Jeddah this year, is that this is produced specifically for global TV broadcast, and that’s really special’.
‘It’s going to be really special for the people who go to the event, but what is going to be even more special is the hundreds of millions of people who see this show all around the world. So, when you turn on your TV in New York, Berlin or Sydney, you see Jeddah. And that’s special.’
Speaking of Nicki Minaj, he added: ‘She is an absolute global icon. She has 130 million followers on Instagram, she is considered one of the top 10 female performers of all time, she’s had multiple awards and she’ll have her new album come out this year.
Also performing at the festival is former One Direction star Liam Payne, who performed on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack and has raunchy lyrics including ‘put your hands on my body and strip that down for me’
‘She is going to get a lot of attention for Jeddah in the most positive way you can imagine. She’s going to be actively on her social media, she’ll be posting right from the stage in Jeddah and at her hotel in Jeddah. Everyone is going to know that Nicki Minaj has landed in Saudi Arabia’.
Also performing at the festival is former One Direction star Liam Payne, who performed on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack and has raunchy lyrics including ‘put your hands on my body and strip that down for me’.
Also performing is DJ Las Vegas DJ Steve Aoki.
Also performing is DJ Las Vegas DJ Steve Aoki. Speaking of Aoki, Quirke added: ‘He is one of the most spectacular live DJs I’ve ever seen, and his global fans agree. Aoki is an incredible electronic artist and headlines the best shows such as Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival. It’s going to be like nothing ever seen before here’.
Speaking of Aoki, Quirke added: ‘He is one of the most spectacular live DJs I’ve ever seen, and his global fans agree. Aoki is an incredible electronic artist and headlines the best shows such as Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival. It’s going to be like nothing ever seen before here’.
Ticket prices are not yet known.
It comes as the Middle Eastern country has welcomes a series of modernisation reforms under the new ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
It comes as the Middle Eastern country has welcomes a series of modernisation reforms under the new ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (pictured)
Overturning the world’s only ban on women drivers is the most palpable social change in the ultra-conservative kingdom, which is pursuing a wide-ranging liberalisation drive.
To drive, women do not require the explicit approval of their male ‘guardians’ – husbands, fathers and other male relatives – though their permission is still needed by women to study, get married and even leave prison.
But it remains unclear whether women have any legal recourse should their guardians prevent them from taking the wheel.