Rap artist Nicki Minaj still performed in Angola despite of a human rights group asking her not to do it.
According to Billboard, on Saturday, the Anaconda singer headlined "Show Unitel Boas Festas" -a Christmas festival held at Luanda, the capital of Angola.
Reportedly, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) had asked Nicki Minaj to cancel her performance through a statement.
On the HRF website, the statement was published under the headline "Nicki Minaj Shouldn't Be Performing for Dictators."
"Jose Eduardo dos Santos has ruled Angola since seizing power in the fall of 1979. A cunning tyrant, dos Santos survived a legacy of colonialism and devastating civil war to consolidate control over the presidency, military, and judicial system, all while crushing independent journalism and civil society," HRF noted on the statement. "He uses rigged elections to fake democratic credentials, and his suppression of dissent is ruthless. As part of a national wave of arrests his regime has put 17 activists on trial for reading books on nonviolent resistance. Earlier this year, his security officers carried out and covered up a massacre of hundreds of civilians."
"Beyond Minaj and Mariah Carey, Human Rights Foundation has documented performances and visits from Leo Messi, Jennifer Lopez, Nelly Furtado, Hilary Swank, Kanye West, and Erykah Badu for tyrants in Gabon, Turkmenistan, Chechnya, Kazakhstan, and Swaziland in exchange for seven-figure paychecks," the HRF further wrote.
Apparently, dos Santos has "exploited Angola's vast natural resource wealth to build an enormous business empire, enriching his family and positioning them at the top of the country's key industries."
Unitel, the concert's sponsor is reported to be partially owned by the dos Santos family and is headed by Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and is reported to be Africa's richest woman.
According to BBC, Nicki Minaj's performance in Angola came a day after a judge ordered the release of 15 Angolan activists.
National Review slammed Minaj and that we have to "give her credit for having not a sliver of shame."
Nicki Minaj's performance in Angola had her richer by $2 million.
She also had a chance to post a photo of her and Isabel dos Santos on Instagram: