A human rights group said the rapper “shouldn’t be performing for dictators”
Nicki Minaj took her “Bang Bang” to Angola, despite pleas from human rights activists to stay at home.
The rapper entertained thousands of excited fans in the capital city of Luanda on Saturday, and posted a racy picture of herself decked out in a bejeweled bodysuit onInstagram, to mark the occasion. In one shot, she turned her ample backside to the camera, revealing a thong underneath the sheer black outfit and wrote: “Oh hai, Angola. Ready for the show?”
The “Feeling Myself” rapper also posted video on her Instagram page of the massive crowd chanting “Nicki, Nicki, Nicki.”
According to media reports, she received $2 million for the performance.
The 33-year-old entertainer was criticized last week by the Human Rights Foundation(HRF) for agreeing to perform in Angola. In a statement posted on its website titled “Nicki Minaj Shouldn’t Be Performing for Dictators,” the group said the money to pay her came from “government corruption and human rights violations.”
The hip-hop star was the featured attraction at the holiday party for communications company Unitel, which HRF said is controlled “by the family of dictator Jose Eduardo dos Santos.”
“Nicki Minaj is a global artist. Millions of people look up to her for creative inspiration,” HRF president Thor Halvorssen said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday. “There is no good reason for her to do business with the corrupt Angolan dictatorship and endorse the ruler’s family company.”
According to the HRF, dos Santos “has ruled the southwestern African country of Angola with an iron fist for more than three decades.” The organization cites numerous examples of what it calls dos Santos’ “ruthlessness,” and notes that, this month, Angolan rapper Luaty Beirão was arrested and placed on trial “for the crime of studying a book on nonviolent resistance.”
