Taking place this past Sunday, August 28, 2022, MTV officially hosted its annual Video Music Awards (VMA) at the Prudential Center in the heart of Newark, New Jersey. This year’s annual awards ceremony marks the 38th anniversary of the exclusive MTV gathering, being the home to a handful of commonly known musical talents such as Bad Bunny, Madonna, Beyoncé, Adele, Harry Styles, and so many more.
While a surplus of artists and icons arrived at the ceremony empty-handed, only a few selected people would leave a new accomplishment to add to their occupational checklist. Obtaining her sixth and seventh career VMAs last night, Super Freaky Girl rapper Nicki Minaj took home the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, along with the award for Best Hip-Hop Video with Do We Have A Problem (feat. Lil Baby): Minaj beat out her other competitors that consisted of Eminem and Snoop Dogg’s From the D 2 the LBC, Future’s Wait For U (feat. Drake and Tems), Latto’s Big Energy, Pusha T’s Diet Coke, and Kendrick Lamar’s N95.
President of music, music talent, events, and programming at Paramount+, Bruce Gilmer, vocalized his appreciation towards the 39-year-old female idol before the event had even commenced – “Nicki has broken barriers for women in hip-hop with her versatility and creative artistry… She has shifted the music industry and cemented her status as a global superstar with her crossover appeal, genre-defying style, and continuing to be unapologetically ‘Nicki.’” The iconic artist ended everyone’s night with outstanding performances of her hit tracks Chun-Li, Anaconda, Beez in the Trap, Super Bass, and Moment 4 Life. Other live performances from yesterday’s event include Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Blackpink, Bad Bunny, Anitta, Jack Harlow, Kane Brown and more.