Thousands of Nicki Minaj Cardboard Cutouts Surround Cathedral in Finland

When it dropped last August, Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" sent shockwaves through the music world--so much so that its lascivious video broke Vevo's record for single-day streams, with 19.6 million in its first 24 hours. (That mark has since been surpassed by Taylor Swift's star-studded clip for "Bad Blood"; the 1989 cut was bolstered by new verses from Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar.) The Sir Mix-a-Lot-nodding single was included on Minaj's third album, December's The Pinkprint. That record has sent her on a whirlwind tour around the world, but it's the "Anaconda" image that seems to have gotten the most mileage. Gawker notes that Reddit users spotted a thousand cardboard cutouts of Minaj neatly arranged on the steps of a cathedral in Helsinki, Finland. The mock-ups of the Pink Friday rapper, crouching as on the "Anaconda" single art, are pieces of promotion for Minaj's Finnish debut, slated for July. The promotional stunt was put together by the organizers of "Summer Up," Finland's annual urban music festival. Fans were encouraged to steal the pieces and bring them to that show. 100 of the cutouts had free pairs of tickets taped to them. View the pictures below.

Minaj has been a fixture in headlines for some time now, for reasons musical and romantic. After her decade-long relationship with Safaree Samuels ended last year, the "Starships" rapper quickly became linked to Meek Mill. The Philadelphia rapper appeared twice on The Pinkprint (once on a bonus track) and the two have been inseparable in public and on social media. (Just this weekend, Minaj professed her love for Mill on stage at Summer Jam.) Though an Instagram post seemed to suggest the two were engaged--T.I. even congratulated the pair at a restaurant--they have since clarified that no marriage decisions have been made.