--- title: Nicki Minaj Reads Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' description: Nicki Minaj offered an inspiring rendition of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" at A&E Network's Wednesday night benefit concert. canonical: https://time.com/4120408/nicki-minaj-reads-maya-angelou-still-i-rise/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-19T17:47:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:27:02.263Z og:title: Nicki Minaj Delivered a Powerful Reading of Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' og:description: The artist performed the work at a benefit concert og:url: https://time.com/4120408/nicki-minaj-reads-maya-angelou-still-i-rise/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c9081ad057b44d7/698871f7a988cac3ab6b5620/nicki-minaj-maya-angelou-still-i-rise.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Nicki Minaj Maya Angelou Still I Rise og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nicki Minaj Delivered a Powerful Reading of Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' twitter:description: The artist performed the work at a benefit concert twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c9081ad057b44d7/698871f7a988cac3ab6b5620/nicki-minaj-maya-angelou-still-i-rise.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Nicki Minaj Deliver a Powerful Reading of Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' > Sponsored content. 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Recording artist Nicki Minaj speaks onstage at A+E Networks 'Shining A Light' concert at The Shrine Auditorium on November 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for A+E Networks  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 19, 2015 5:47 PM UTC [Nicki Minaj](http://time.com/4108617/person-of-the-year-poll-2015/) offered an inspiring rendition of Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” at A&E Network’s Wednesday night benefit concert, _Shining A Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America_. Several other notable musicians, such as Pharrell, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend and Sia, took part in the show to address racial inequality in America and raise money for [United Way Worldwide](http://www.unitedway.org). Angelou’s poem broaches on the themes of racism, misogyny and sexuality, issues that Minaj has been [outspoken](http://time.com/4064315/nicki-minaj-miley-cyrus/) about in the past, and the 32-year-old artist gave a fittingly stirring delivery of the piece. “Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise, that I dance like I’ve got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs,” she recited to a cheering audience. 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