ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS... WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024 // FINSBURY PARK, LONDON
NICKI MINAJ HEADLINES DAY ONE OF ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS… WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024!
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
NICKI MINAJ CLOSES DAY ONE OF ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS… WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024! AT LONDON’S FINSBURY PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: LUKE DYSON
Wireless Festival is one of the most anticipated London festivals this year and it is finally the first day, with a promise of lots of Rap and R&B artists set to take the big stage today. The festival has been running for a whopping 19 years, having established itself as a staple summer rap extravaganza in London’s Finsbury Park and with the hottest artists headlining it each year. Yet, this year, it was unfortunately plagued by drama one day before it even started. With some artists dropping from the line-up unexpectedly, a whole day of the festival being shifted to earlier hours to seemingly accommodate England’s EUROs game, and lots of people complaining about long queues and delayed set times, it was not a good opening to the weekend. Yet, walking down the park in mid-afternoon showed a completely different picture – a sea of pink and people partying under the hot summer sun (a rare occasion for the UK summer but one that has not been as rare as expected this year).
The acts of the Main Stage this year had been very promising from the start. First up was NSG, gracing their crowd with a lot of energy early on. The crowd was signing along to the East London collective dancing along to the afro-swing beats and the hip-hop sounds. The group performed some of the crowd-favourites, among them ‘Petite’ and ‘Free my Mind’, confessing that they have loved the energy of their attendees and requesting from them to ‘do as many moshes as they can’, a command that was heard instantly. As they were leaving the stage, the set the tone for the weekend which is of course that ‘It’s Coming Home’, setting up the rest of the day positively.
One thing that Wireless does very well is pair up artists each day to create a flowing line-up, so the performances not only run smoothly, but also complement each other. As NSG very well prepared the crowd for the rest of the line-up, which would of course be topped by the woman of the moment, Nicki Minaj (and more on her performance later), the next artist on stage was Destroy Lonely. The crowd was seemingly even bigger despite it being so early in the afternoon, as the rapper came on stage. Destroy Lonely is not a newcomer to the scene – having been signed to Playboi Carti’s record label and being characterised by his dynamic instrumental performances and unique aesthetic, he came on stage wearing a Union Jack Chrome Hearts tshirt – and his fashion choices did not go unnoticed. Destroy Lonely seemed to do a phenomenal job in entertaining the hyped up crowd – now reaching far beyond the soundboard and bouncing along. As he was performing songs such as ‘Neverever’, he had the audience moshing and dancing non-stop, making him slightly emotional towards the end.
NSG PERFORMING ON MAIN STAGE ON DAY ONE OF ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS… WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024 AT LONDON’S FINSBURY PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: BEN AWIN
And when one thinks that it can literally not get any better, a very highly anticipated artist was next. Sean Paul has been one of the biggest names in the bill for this year, having a great balance of dance-y tunes, reggae beats and dance pop songs that are very suitable not only for a festival but also for a big party. A veteran in performing live and lighting up his audience, his long-standing career spanning around 20 years and his Grammy nominations have definitely earned him respect from festival goers who know they will enjoy his performance. In comparison to Destroy Lonely however, Sean Paul took a lot longer to warm up his crowd. His performance included a funky key-tar, dance acrobatics, children on stage and of course an endless sequence of hit songs. While the crowd was definitely entertained, it felt like they lacked the enthusiasm expected from an artist of his level, even though he definitely got the attention of his crowd as the set progressed, having people open up small moshes to allow elaborate and sexy dancing.
SEAN PAUL PERFORMING ON MAIN STAGE ON DAY ONE OF ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS… WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024 AT LONDON’S FINSBURY PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: LUKE DYSON
The star of the day – other than the obvious – was however Ice Spice. Her performance in the festival this year was one of the hottest topics for 2024, as the artist has been catapulted into fame. Following her viral moments in 2022, Ice Spice has rightfully gained her title in exquisite performance over the years – and her collaborations with artists such as Nicki Minaj herself and Pink Pantheress has definitely helped. The performance was a sight to behold – and it was hotly discussed that it was only the night before she had joined Travis Scott in his Circus Maximus gig in London, at Tottenham’s Hotspur Stadium – so the expectations were incredibly high as she came on stage. The crowd was singing along from start to finish of her set, especially during songs such as ‘butterfly ku’, ‘Actin A Smoochie’ and as the red lights came on, ‘Barbie World’. She also performed Pink Pantheress’ ‘Boy’s a Liar’ and of course, her hit song ‘Princess Diana’. The highlight of her set was however her teaser performance of her new song ‘Did it First’ as Finsbury Park roared when she was joined on stage by Central Cee.
The crowd started growing impatient following Ice Spice’s performance as Future was now the final artist before the much-anticipated headliner. With a delay in his stage times that caused a bit of a concern due to the park’s curfew rules, Future came on stage with a bang. The American rapper and singer is well known for his mumble-like vocals and auto-tuned melodies mixed with trap music and rap flows. GQ has notably crowned him as the greatest rapper of his time, while he is also widely considered as one of the greatest rappers of his generation. His star-studded discography, collaborations – with the likes of Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, The Weeknd and Metro Boomin – as well as awards and nominations definitely made him a top choice for the festival. While his performance was still in daylight, his songs were slightly darker than the bubblepop performance of Ice Spice prior, setting up a completely different mood. His most notable songs that had the crowd screaming their lungs out were ‘Strict Talk’, ‘Fuck up some Commas’ and ‘Type Shit’, as well as the BB100 top ten single ‘Mask Off’ and finally ‘Like That’. While his performance was definitely very well received, I could not help but notice the excess of auto-tune in his vocals, the dominance of adlibs over actual rap flows and the mash of different melodies that seemed a bit confusing. This type of music is no doubt unique and interesting, it seemed like it might not always translate in a live performance. Still, it was a very gritty set that was very suiting to welcome the final act on stage.
ICE SPICE PERFORMING ON MAIN STAGE ON DAY ONE OF ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS… WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024 AT LONDON’S FINSBURY PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: LUKE DYSON
There is no reason to lie about this but the whole crowd in Finsbury Park today was there for the one and only Nicki Minaj. The pink ocean of UK Barbz had taken over not just Wireless but the whole of North London – and the whole of X too. Nicki’s fans are definitely one of the most hardcore fanbases and artist can have, a very loyal bunch of people that would follow the artist into the abyss if she asked them to. Such loyalty to an artist is not only a very rare thing to have, but also extremely difficult to maintain, especially when the artist is the centre of controversy for weeks. Yet, despite Minaj’s recent mishaps and bad press, her loyal Barbz showed up to support her and make her return to Wireless a night to remember.
Nicki Minaj is the first female rapper to headline Wireless three (!) times – 2015, 2022 and now, 2024. This fact by itself is enough to prove that she is a very well-loved artist among the festival-goers and a highly anticipated act in the main stage. While her music is not entirely my cup of tea (please don’t come at me), her performance was truly magnificent. Having the stage opened up by Ivorian Doll, Nicki delayed her performance but did not fail to deliver a single thing. Emerging in a crystal-embellished bodysuit and a new strawberry shortcake half and half wig that made her fans feral, she performed with excess confidence and skill. Catching the audience with songs such as ‘Cowgirl’, a sensual ‘Feeling Myself’, intricate dancing for ‘Pink Birthday’ and flawless vocals, her performance was nothing short of a lesson for all her haters and a big statement for her fans. Changing into a yellow kimono and her Harajuku Barbie character, she had her fans howling when ‘Hit Red Ruby Da Sleez’ came on, while a special mention should also go out for her performance in ‘Chun Li’.
Of course, Nicki’s charisma does not stop in designer outfits, elaborate wigs, sexy dancing and raw live vocals. Her acting skills and theatrical mastery surprised the fans when she transitioned from ‘Barbie World’ to ‘Roman’s Revenge’, a moment that was discussed even long after the set finished. The takeover of Roman Zolanski (her British alter ego) came as the song ‘Monster’ – arguably one of her most critically acclaimed songs – echoed into the night, rightfully having fans confess that this was already her best performance to date and definitely a much more magnificent spectacle than her 2022 performance (which was also highly rated). As the pink colours now gave way to a more toned-down look and a black bob, Minaj howled ‘London won’t you save me?’, as her usual upbeat songs were replaced by darker and slower melodies. For an artist renowned by her animated and quick rap flows, intricate word plays and a lot of personality, singing slower songs into a festival set would seem to many like a big risk. But when you are Nicki Minaj, such a risk always pays off. The ‘Queen of Rap’ never fails to show how her alter egos and ability to merge different styles, genres, accents and techniques into her performance are a guarantee for her versatility as an artist. This is probably the reason why she is the ‘ride-or-die’ for her fans. The delight for her performance peaked when ‘Anaconda’ came on, as well as when it was followed by ‘Superbass’, a song that I could barely hear from the speakers due to the intense sing-along.
Closing off her performance and sticking to curfew, Minaj finished off her stellar performance by inviting Skillibeng on stage to perform a remix of ‘Crocodile Tears’ and ‘Forward from Trini’. Even though many expected Future to be the artist invited on stage, it was still a great closing to arguably one of Minaj’s best performances to date. The after-effect from her performance was long-lingering and has proven to show that she is one of the greatest artist of our time for this exact reason. As Wireless Festival has two more days to go, Nicki Minaj’s set has placed the bar very high for the artists that will follow.
NICKI MINAJ HEADLINING ON MAIN STAGE ON DAY ONE OF ROCKSTAR ENERGY PRESENTS… WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2024 AT LONDON’S FINSBURY PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: LUKE DYSON