‘I know the love is genuine, the energy just felt warm’

She did no encores, but Nicki Minaj assures Leonie Wagner she ’really loves’ SA fans

“SOUTH Africa, how do you do that?”

Nicki Minaj is still asking, days after opening her Pinkprint tour in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The first show of the US rapper’s tour was widely acclaimed as a success — despite some jarring moments.

During her performance Minaj spoke about her love for South Africa, changing the lyrics for Right

Through Me to convey her “deep connection” to the country. The original line “How do you do that shit?” became “South Africa, how do you do that shit?” In an exclusive interview with Sunday Times after the show, the

Anaconda hitmaker said that visiting South Africa had been one of her greatest desires.

“I always felt like I wanted to,” she said. “I [couldn’t] wait for the time when I could show back my love and appreciation. I told my team: ‘I know it’s going to be a crazy energy.’ “Like some places I know the energy is going to be

good because I know the love is genuine. This is one of those places, they made me so happy. Their energy just felt warm, like they knew me.”

Minaj, whose wiggles on the night barely progressed to the provocative twerking her fans have come to expect, said she was “blown away” by the audience response.

She said most of her fans know either her underground songs or her mainstream hits, and it was rare to find an audience who knew both.

“I was surprised. I didn’t expect them to know all my old stuff, you know just everything. So when I meet a crowd that knows all of it, it blows me away. It was a great experience and I will never forget it,” she said.

The sultry hip-hop artist, who will be performing in Durban tonight, said she fell in love with the country thanks to social media.

“With South Africans, for some strange reason, being that I’ve always been on social media, I have always recognised a lot of love from them because I would always see them speaking to me on Twitter and stuff, years ago. It always meant something to me. I put it in my brain and just never forgot it.”

Like most online affairs, there is always potential for disappointment and unmet expectations.

This was the case for a group of about 20 “Barbz and Kens”, which is how Minaj refers to fans.

Having coughed up close to R3 000 each for a meet-and-greet session, fans fought back tears as she declared the deal was not on.

Speaking to the group, who had waited hours to meet her, she said: “I’m very sorry . . . but I want you to know that I never approved any meet and greet. I don’t do meet and greets after a show, I was literally about to leave. These people lied to you, please get your money back.”

In an attempt to salvage the situation, she agreed to pose for a few group pictures.

Concert promoter David Airey said there had been “a misunderstanding” and promised that the fans would be reimbursed.

I have always recognised a lot of love . . . it always meant something to me