Nicki Minaj refused to grace the stage of DWP China at National Exhibition and Convention Center on November 17 and 18 in Shanghai, although she was already in the country. Reports emerged that the music festival is a fake version of Djakarta Warehouse Project and has no authorization from the DWP trademark.
"The event rumored to take place in Shanghai on 17th and 18th of November 2018 is an unauthorized use of DWP trademark," an announcement read on DWP China Facebook. "DWP as a brand has no association with the event."
A lot of hopeful fans who wanted to witness DWP China got confused as Djakarta Warehouse Project's Indian organizers had been teasing the music festival's Chinese version all year. The announcement also stated that the event's lineup is also unauthorized, so DJ Snake would never come.
Unfortunately, it seemed Nicki Minaj did not receive this announcement as she arrived at the venue with her entourage on November 18. According to the South China Morning Post, the 35-year-old star was set to headline DWP China, along with Luis Fonsi and DJ Snake and Blasterjaxx.
Global Times newspaper, via ABC News, reported that about 1,000 people waited for Nicki Minaj to perform for two hours. DWP China's organizers, on the other hand, told the crowd that the Trinidadian-born American rapper "refused" to grace the stage.
In a video shared by fans on Weibo, an event organizer could be seen encouraging fans to chant Nicki Minaj's name in hopes she would hear them and perform. But it didn't happen. DWP China's organizer, Yatai Huaying, then blamed the "Barbie Dreams" hitmaker for failing to arrive on time, delaying the event, and refusing to come out on stage despite the fans' plead and negotiations.
Alternatively, a video of who-seemed-to-be Nicki Minaj's manager revealed he was trying to calm DWP China's crowd. He also said that they should blame the sound issues.
Yatai Huaying then vowed to return the concertgoers' money. Some fans even shelled out 3,000 yuan ($593) to watch DWP China.
Nicki Minaj is yet to give her official comment about the issue as of this writing but promised her Chinese fans that she would return in Shanghai with a real partner. "I'll be back with a better partner this time, OK?" she said.
DWP China is the first China version of Djakarta Warehouse Project originally from Indonesia. It is an annual dance music festival in the country that eventually evolved as the largest electronic dance music (EDM) in Asia. This year, the music festival will be a three-day event starting from December 7 to 9 and attracting 45,000 party people each day.
