On her feature on Kanye’s “Monster”
“That has to be the breakout Nicki Minaj moment. That was my moment,” she says. Nicki laid down the verse after ‘Ye reached out to her through his former arm candy Amber Rose, hopping on a flight to Hawaii where she met up with West and laid down the track’s first vocals. “People paid attention because of who was on it and because I held my own and I stayed true to my crazy animation, and it’s like I didn’t have to take my fun stuff out. I was able to incorporate Nicki Minaj on a record with Jay-Z and Kanye West. And I think people know that’s a difficult task in itself.”
On her collaboration with Eminem on “Roman’s Revenge”
“We both have our own world, and we’re just colliding. I feel like we’re on a freaking collision course or something. But it’s very equal,” she explains. “I want a piece of that Slim Shady world because I feel like it may have subconsciously influenced me.”
On criticism from other female emcees
“These girls aren’t mad at me. They’re mad at themselves,” she states, shooting down questions on why she never took Kim’s bait. “[It’s] jealousy, insecurity and being broke. When you haven’t capitalized and you see I’m about to capitalize on this shit like it’s never been done before, then you’re mad at yourself.”
On delaying her debut album
“I was so afraid to put out an album for fear of failure,” she later admits, stretched across a dressing room couch in a yellow Harajuku Lovers tee and flowing sweatpants. “I wanted to put my album out on Valentine’s Day of 2011. And my label was like, are you fucking crazy?”
With the numbers on her side and a list of features behind her she says
“I know that Pink Friday is a classic album. I have never been this proud of anything in my life,” she says. “I just think that it’s such a dynamic body of work. I’m no longer afraid to drop it. Now, I know it’s time.”
