Britney, Nicki, and Kanye, Together At Last

New York’s Britney Spears fans got a surprise last night when Kanye West took the stage at the Nassau Coliseum. No, he wasn’t there to cause trouble—he appeared during Nicki Minaj’s opening set to perform “Monster” with rap’s new princess. Ms. Onika Tanya Maraj bounced around the stage, outfitted in a silver A-line dress and a pink bob as she held her own against the rapper. She spat her infamous—and arguably, the song’s best—verse to a crowd that seemed to know the lyrics as well as she did.

West’s surprise performance came a few days before the debut of Watch The Throne, his collaborative album with Roc-A-Fella records founder, Nets owner, rapper, and Mr. Beyonce Jay-Z. It’s just one more unconventional promotional device being employed by the rappers on the eve of their release; the day before Britney’s concert, Janye had held a listening party for the album in a planetarium, complete with visuals of exploding planets and mini lobster rolls (the food of kings!).