Nicki Minaj sat down for a one-on-one interview with Joe Budden.
via Complex:
Minaj and Budden got right to it during their discussion, with the pair first talking about their BET Cypher together back in 2009. They also touched on other topics like Minaj getting plastic surgery and how she became the blueprint for many women rappers today.
“I would never see any female rapper wearing pink hair,” she said. “Pink hair became a part of that starter kit. Every female rapper will put on a pink wig at some point. And I remember that was just the Nicki Minaj thing. That’s why when I said ‘pink wig thick ass’—that’s an iconic Nicki Minaj line because that’s what she wears.”
Minaj also immediately discussed how rap music is viewed today. “In my opinion, rap is the only culture that from the beginning of time has been vilified. From the very beginning, we have been treated like the bad guy. … We’re held to a different level of judgment.”
Elsewhere, she touched on oversights in her career and in those of the women rappers who came before her: “The same way I feel I should have already been on the cover of American Vogue, so should Lil’ Kim.”
During her and Budden’s Live on Tuesday, they addressed men degrading Black women and feeling empowered to make negative comments about women’s appearances. Minaj spoke of someone she called “the podcast clown” who has been demeaning Black women. She went on to reinforce that she loves and supports Black men, and that the media should spread more positivity.
Elsewhere during the IG Live, the Queens native shared more about her new partnerships with Amazon, which will be hosting her Queen Radio on the new Amp app. “I am very excited to be partners with Amazon on bringing back Queen Radio,” she said. “Queen Radio is something that is so dear to my heart. Of course, there have been times where I’ve thought about not wanting to do Queen Radio, or any radio for that matter, but why not?”
Check out the interview in full below.
