Nicki Minaj Rakes In Big Bucks After Performing For African Dictator

JP Carroll

Rapper Nicki Minaj performed Saturday in the African country of Angola at the invitation of a company which is partly owned by ruling dictator José Eduardo dos Santos’s family. Human rights activists are criticizing Minaj, 33, who was reportedly paid $2 million.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) based in New York published an open letter to Minaj before her concert in Angola. HRF made reference to the Angolan dictator’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos, who is also a controversial billionaire, stating:

Her riches don’t just come from controlling stakes in the oil, banking, construction, and telecom sectors: According to the local anti-corruption organization Maka Angola, she is the largest beneficiary of the country’s deadly trade in blood diamonds.

According to the German human rights non-governmental organization Transparency International, Isabel dos Santos is one of the world’s “15 symbols of global corruption.” Forbes estimates her net worth at $3.6 billion which makes her Africa’s wealthiest woman. Isabel dos Santos owns 25 percent of Unitel, the cell phone network carrier which paid Minaj for her performance.

Minaj is just the latest in a long line of pop stars who have performed for dictators. Two years ago, Mariah Carey was paid $1 million to perform in Angola. In 2013, Jennifer Lopez serenaded Turkmenistan’s dictator Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow with a sultry Marilyn Monroe-esque “Happy Birthday.”

Beyonce, Carey and Nelly Furtado performed for deceased Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Beyonce and Furtado both donated their earnings to charity after they found out they performed for murderous dictators.

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