Maya Angelou's Poignant Poem, "Still I Rise," Is Exactly What We Can Cling to Today

It pretty much goes without saying that Nicki Minaj is a bad b*tch, but last year in LA, she exuded a whole new kind of power. Nicki took the stage during A+E's Shining a Light concert, an event dedicated to the progress on race in America, and read Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise." It's been a brutal week. Hillary Clinton conceded to president-elect Donald Trump, leaving a majority of the nation confused and devastated. As Hillary said, "We still have not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling. But someday, someone will." This sort of resilience echoes the sentiment of Maya Angelou's poem, nearly 40 years after its publication. This is what we can cling to: getting back up yet again.

It's true, we've seen Nicki Minaj slaying on her own songs, like when she was really feelin' herself with Beyoncé. We've also seen her positively own it on other artists' tracks, so much so that her guest verse basically becomes the song's whole hinging point. We've even seen her get real with other artists, like when she called out Miley Cyrus at the VMAs or when she put Taylor Swift in her place on Twitter. But even when taking all that into account, there's still something so special about this moment. The poem seems to fit on Nicki like a glove, and she emits a sort of quiet, confident serenity in a way we've never quite seen from her before. Watch the whole reading in the clip above.