The most apparent cultural shift came via the evening's headliner: Nicki Minaj, the first woman Summer Jam headliner since Alicia Keys in 2008 .
She took to her pink Swarovski-encrusted mic with a vengeance, rapping old hits like "Beez in the Trap" and her MC-destroying "Monster" verse, as well as newer songs like "Lookin Ass" and the Soulja Boy-featuring "Yasss Bish!!!," as though she were chewing and spitting out everyone around her.
On her remixes of "Chiraq" and "Danny Glover," for which she brought out the uber-relevant rappers Lil Herb and Young Thug, you could practically see her fangs grow. And on "Moment for Life," one of the "pop" singles that, presumably, Rosenberg maligned, she sang passionately and defiantly with two back-up singers who borderline took it to church. In the best set of the night, she enunciated each word with utter confidence, showing just what type of polished, astoundingly precise rapper pop stardom has made her.
