Nicki Minaj silenced after pressing ahead with double New York shows

Rapper Nicki Minaj has literally been left speechless after pressing ahead with two free concerts in New York on Tuesday while struggling with a bruised vocal cord.

The Starships hitmaker revealed she was feeling ill on Monday, the day after wrapping up her tour, and admitted her doctor had advised her to take two weeks off to rest her voice.

She refused to listen to the physician for fear of disappointing fans and staged an early morning concert for live TV on Tuesday morning, before playing a free gig at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom that night.

Minaj didn't let her ailment spoil her evening show and she delighted fans by bringing out special guests Lil Wayne, Drake and Foxy Brown to join her onstage.

During the concert, she praised Brown and credited her as "the female rapper who influenced me the most", adding, "Broken Silence (Brown's 2001 album) changed my life. I always loved Foxy. When she put out Broken Silence, I knew she was an innovator."

The lengthy set proved to be a huge hit with devotees, but Minaj is suffering after the gig - although she insists she has no regrets.

In a series of Twitter.com posts on Wednesday (15Aug12), she writes, "Its (sic) official, my voice is GONE!!!! I swear it held up just to spk (speak) to u (sic) guys last nite! Mind over matter. The mind is so powerful... It was all worth it for what I experienced w/u (with you) guys last night tho (though). Wouldn't change a thing."

Minaj will only have days to recover from the vocal silence - she is still scheduled to perform at Britain's V Festival this weekend (18-19Aug12) and in Dublin, Ireland on 21 August (12).