Nicki Minaj's Coachella Cameo With Drake: A Deeply Unbothered Catwalk

At the end of what looks like a very good performance of “The Motto” and the beginning of Drake and his dropcrotch pants’ verse on “Truffle Butter,” the spectre of Minaj emerges against giant projections of flames. She holds no mic nor does she reach for one, she just does a little catwalk with her boss posture and the crowd loses its shit. The best part of this video, via @OnikaMforLife, is that even with no performance, you can hear the shriek decibels pitch up three octaves: everyone screams like a spiritually ecstatic baby in unison. The most questionable part of this video is her ensemble—I don’t know what is up with what appears to be a layered flannel skirt but need a closer look to assess, and of course the headdress, the origins of which are deeply rooted in her Trini culture but which in this context (and with what looks like a Run-DMC crop top) is just too on-the-nose “Coachella style” for me to get down with a hundred percent. However, I am not extremely versed in the ins and outs of Carnival dressing so feel free to converse about this in the comments. (If you wanna talk soca, though, get me on the line!)