Nicki Minaj covers the latest issue of Billboard magazine as the release of her new album The Pinkprint approaches.
In the accompanying cover story, Nicki opens up about being a boss, the inspiration she gets from Beyoncé, the controversy surrounding her “Anaconda” video and her brand.
Check out a few excerpts:
On managing her brand:
“I’m on 15 to 25 conference calls every few days strategizing with my team. I think a lot of artists sit back and have it done for them,” Minaj tells Billboard. “Sometimes as women in the industry — if you’re sexy or like doing sexy things — some people subconsciously negate your brain. They think you’re stupid.”
On shady compliments:
“Once I did American Idol, a lot of people would come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re smarter than I thought.’ What does that mean?!”
On her “Anaconda” video:
“Everything we see that’s labeled as beautiful is very skinny. In the song I kind of say, ‘F*ck them skinny girls.’ But it’s all love. I consider myself a skinny girl.” She adds, “I went overboard with the video to show that I’m not going to hide. And those big-booty dancers I have, they’re not going to hide. Black girls should feel sexy, powerful and important too.
On her long-term life goals
“I was just a little kid in Southside Jamaica, Queens, hoping one day I would have my own perfume,” Minaj tells Billboard of those days when fame was a very distant possibility. “And now I have three.”
On being inspired by Beyoncé:
“There’s something about her work ethic that always made me feel like no matter how hard stuff gets, I’m not allowed to complain. Some women give me the feeling that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
You can read the rest of the cover story via Billboard.
