Nicki Minaj performed “No Frauds,” “Realize” with 2 Chainz, and “Swish Swish” at the 2017 NBA Awards on Monday night. Watch the video below!
The NBA’s first-ever awards show is being launched to recognize the achievements of the league’s top players, and Minaj had the honor of performing at the inaugural event. Despite being nominated for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at Sunday night’s BET Awards, an honor she’s won every year since 2010, Minaj skipped the music ceremony in favor of being at the NBA event the next night. She wound up losing to Remy Ma, anyway, ending her seven-year winning streak.
Minaj actually teased earlier this month that she was choosing to attend the NBA Awards over the BET Awards. The rapper posted a logo for the basketball ceremony on Instagram, along with the caption, “My darlings, this is the ONLY award show I’ll be attending this month. Set your DVR’s. You won’t want to miss this PERFORMANCE.” Making it all the more special, the event happened to come on the same day Minaj found out she earned a huge honor from her hometown. She revealed on Twitter just hours before the awards show, “This is a #MajorKeyAlert I just got the #KeyToTheCity #ProudQueensGirl Thank you #MelindaKatz Queens Borough PRESIDENT.” It was bestowed for “outstanding career achievements in music.”