Nicki Minaj tickles Vancouver pink (PHOTOS, RECAP)

Nicki Minaj delighted a packed Rogers Arena last night with a little help from her very famous friends.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper, who previously opened for Britney Spears at the venue, was the main attraction Sunday during the Vancouver stop on her Pinkprint Tour. Rae Sremmurd, Tinashe, Dej Loaf and Meek Mill, best known for his ongoing Twitter tiff with Drake, got the party started before Minaj eventually took the stage at 9:40 p.m.

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Nicki opened the show with a trio of hits from last year’s The Pinkprint album: “All Things Go”, “The Crying Game” and “Feeling Myself.” For the most part, the crowd was calm and collected until she busted out “Moment 4 Life” from 2010’s Pink Friday. The show moved along at a wicked pace from there, with Minaj killing us softly with jams like “Beez In The Trap” and “Pound The Alarm.”

“Vancouver, how are y’all feeling tonight? You look good!” Minaj said to huge cheers. “Where are all my independent women? If you’ve got a job, a career, your own money and you don’t need a man for shit, make some noise!” A bunch of girls screamed while a bunch of guys looked sheepishly at their iPhones.

“Ladies, listen – the only reason these men are out here, acting like they can treat us however they want is because they think we need them,” Nicki said. “But honestly, I only need your ass for one motherfucking thing! And sometimes I don’t even need THAT!” The line drew laughs and more cheers, but it should be noted that most of the production crew who put Minaj’s stage together were men, so apparently she still needs our asses for some things.

She did have a question for the guys: “So fellas, are you an ass man or a boobs man? Ass? Boobs?” The Vancouver crowd couldn’t decide, so Minaj treated them to a big helping of both during a raunchy performance of “Anaconda”.

For “Whip It”, Minaj enlisted the help of two very lucky fans with floor seats. First up was Sheryl, a lovely girl who made the unfortunate mistake of telling Minaj she was from Los Angeles. The Vancouver crowd booed, prompting Sheryl to ask the rapper “why are they hating me?” More boos. Minaj comforted the girl and said “well, I still love you. But sit down, darling.”

The rapper then began searching for “a very live boy”, at which point a starstruck dude named Isaac, wearing a black Nicki Minaj t-shirt, made his way to the stage to profess his love for “his queen”. His queen chuckled but quickly threatened to “beat his ass” if he screwed up the lyrics to her song.

“You have to get this amazing crowd even live-r than they already are,” Minaj instructed Isaac, at which point he grabbed her mic and screamed “THE MOTHERFUCKING QUEEN OF MOTHERFUCKING RAP, PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR NICKI FUCKING MINAJ!!!!” The entire arena went apeshit as Minaj and her live boy traded verses on “Whip It” while Sheryl from L.A. kinda bounced along.

The party continued with fiery renditions of “Dance (A$$)” and “Super Bass”, and Minaj was later joined onstage by fiancé Meek Mill. The pair performed a mashup of Mill’s “Buy A Heart” and “All Eyes On You” before Minaj planted a big smooch on his face. He thanked Minaj for “kissing the shit” out of him, and she called Mill “a weird specimen” that she hasn’t figured out yet.

Minaj closed the show with “Starships” and an encore of “The Night Is Still Young” before saying goodnight to our city. “I wanna say I am honored to be back in Vancouver,” she told us. “I really understand that you guys could’ve been anywhere in the world tonight, but you’re here with me. I appreciate you and I love you very much. All the way up and in the back, I see you! Don’t think that I don’t see you!”