By Nigel Chiwaya and Elizabeth Hagen
DNAinfo New York Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Her album may be called "Pink Friday," but Nicki Minaj is having a Manhattan Tuesday.
The Queens-raised hip-hop superstar will spend the day in New York City, giving an 8 p.m. performance at the Roseland Ballroom that will be free for the first 1,500 fans to arrive.
The line already stretched nearly five blocks by noon, with some people having camped out since 5 p.m. the night before.
The wait is "totally worth it," said Fabian Rodriguez, 18, who arose at 6 a.m. and rallied six friends to trek to Roseland from New Jersey to try and score tickets for what will be his first concert.
"People say she's weird, but i like that she has so many different sides," Rodriguez said.
Norbert Iari, 19, of Raritan Valley, N.J. who woke up at 4 a.m. to get on the line, said, "[Minaj] makes me want to pursue my goals and be successful."
Kayla Jimenez, 14, from Farmingdale, N.Y. made special Minaj T-shirts at 1 a.m. and got 3 hours of sleep before heading to Roseland.
"If we don't get in we're going to cry!" she said, noting that she had to do "so much" to get her mom to bring her and her sister and a friend.
"I had to make my bed and walk the dog," she said, adding, "which I didn't even do."
The Roseland show is a make-good for Minaj's New York fans, who were stung when the rapper pulled out of a scheduled performance at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert at MetLife Stadium in June.
Minaj backed out of the performance after Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg insulted her hit song "Starship." The rapper attempted to appease her fans on Aug. 2, when she annouced the free show.
“Hey barbz, I’m happy to announce my #Free #pinkfridaytour show in #NewYork is going down on aug14th," Minaj tweeted.
The Roseland performance is free for the first 1,500 fans that show up to the ballroom, located at 239 West 52nd St., no earlier than 12 noon.
However, tickets to the show, some of which have been given away by radio stations, have appeared on Craiglist and are being sold for up to $150.
There was no listing for the show on Ticketmaster.
Minaj kicked off the day at Rockefeller Plaza, where she performed in front of fans on the "Today Show."
