The Day I Met the Head Barb

As many of you may know, Nicki Minaj's sophomore album, 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded', dropped yesterday, and I had the amazing opportunity living here in New York to go to the album signing she was holding at the Best Buy in Harlem.  Being so close and all I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip me by.  I knew it was going to be a long day of waiting around but it would be all worth it in the end because not only would I get my first signed album but I also would get to meet the leading lady in hip-hop.

The signing basically took place in two stages: buying the album at 8am and then the actual signing at 6pm.  The signing was originally supposed to take place at the Best Buy in Union Square which is literally less than a ten minute walk away, but the venue had to cancel and so Nicki moved the event to Harlem.  Unfortunately, Harlem is about forty minutes away so I woke up at 5:40 and got there just after 7am.  There were already about four hundred people in line when I arrived, but fortunately I was guaranteed to meet her later that night since the max was 500.  This wait in line was definitely the worst of the two.  First, it was freezing out.  It couldn't have gotten above about 40 degrees so the wait was a little torturous.  There were actually people that had been camping out since 1:30 that morning so I can't even imagine how they felt.  Luckily, the people in line were really great and so the wait wasn't too bad.  What was irritating was the wait to get into Best Buy after they opened at 8am.  They were only taking groups of about 20 up to the store at a time, and then they only had three registers open so it took forever.  By the time I got into Best Buy it was about 10am, and then it took another 40 minutes to buy my copy.  So after almost four hours of waiting in line in the cold I had secured my copy of the fantastic album and was guaranteed to meet Ms. Minaj later that night.

Like I mentioned, the signing was supposed to begin at 6pm, and the line-up began at 4pm.  Unfortunately, my last class didn't get out until 4:30 so by the time I got back up to Harlem it was about 5:15.  I was towards the back of the line again, but I was definitely going to meet the Head Barb so I wasn't too upset.  Fortunately, we were waiting in the parking garage so it was nice and warm.  So 6pm came and went and there was no sign of Nicki.  It was actually funny because every time a car came around the corner people would start screaming only to realize Nicki wasn't in the car.  There was actually one time when a black SUV pulled up, a well-dressed man got out of the driver's seat and opened the back door but it was not Nicki.  Everyone thought this was the moment we would finally glimpse the rapper, and when another guy got out everyone booed resoundingly and the policemen in the area cracked up laughing at us.  At about 6:30, these Nicki Minaj paint girls (as they were termed) came out and took pictures with fans, etc.  They were essentially dressed up like Nicki and had painted their skin like Nicki's on the album cover.  Nicki finally showed up close to 7pm, and then the signing commenced.  It wasn't until about 9:20 that I finally got into Best Buy.

As we stepped in they had Nicki's album playing on one of their stereo systems, and this had to be the second best part of the day.  It was clear as to which tracks on the album were fan favorites because everyone would star rapping/singing along.  The highlight of the night was when 'Come On a Cone' came on.  To say that this is the most popular song on the album is an understatement: people went nuts when it started playing.  The best part was when the now infamous lyric "Dick in yo face" came on, and as everyone was screaming it at the top of their lungs, Nicki actually stopped signing albums, stood up and sang it out loud.  Everyone freaked!!  As time progressed the anticipation in the air climbed, and I was ecstatic.  S.B. (who is infamously referenced in 'Stupid Hoe) was there, and although I had no clue who he was) everyone freaked out, and he was especially nice throughout the whole thing talking to fans, etc.  Finally, it was time to get my album signed and meet Nicki.  The two people in front of me were really great.  This one girl was a ginormous fan and she had brought Nicki a bouquet of flowers.  Before she got up to front she broke down in tears.  Nicki was really nice to her and even signed her boobs which is one of her many signature quirks.  Then, the boy in front of me who was probably only 12 or 13 had sketched two portraits of Nicki that were incredibly good, and when he gave them to her she couldn't have been sweeter.  This huge smiled graced her face, she showed the pictures to her friends and complimented the boys' skill.  It was soooo sweet.  Then, it was my turn.  I got up there, said "Hi," froze up because I was starstruck and then just blurted out "Thank you" because that was all that I could seem to conjure up.  Nicki in return said "Thank you, you beautiful boy," handed me back my album, I once again said "Thank you" and I left.  Of course it was only like a twenty second interaction, but it was amazing.  Up close and personal she is a gorgeous woman, and she is one of the sweetest people ever.  She loves her fans so much, and I was honored to finally meet her.  By this time it was 9:40pm and I was exhausted, so I headed back to my dorm and stopped at my favorite pizza place to get dinner.  Even though I spent almost nine hours waiting in line, it was totally worth it.  I can't wait to see her on tour this summer.