Nicki Minaj graces the Fall 2022 issue of Interview magazine and aside from looking stunning, she is in conversation with the one and only Jada Pinkett Smith. The pair discussed an array of topics, ranging from motherhood to her illustrious career. Minaj was pleasantly surprised by the success of “Super Freaky Girl” and even hinted that a new project may come sooner than later.
“I wasn’t sure how I was even feeling about having to put out an album this year, but that song happening and people liking it, that made me happy,” the emcee explained. “People have gone through so much recently that they want to have fun. It’ll probably expedite the album to come out this year.”
She also told Smith how much she loves being a mother as well:
“First of all, being a mother is the biggest freaking blessing on planet earth. I’m so happy that god allowed me to experience this.I love my son so much that I don’t know if it’s normal, but it seems unhealthy because I took too long to start working and leaving him to be watched by anyone, so now I have this real bad separation anxiety. So that’s not good.
In addition, Minaj discussed how she is “goofy and kooky” and never really sought to be salacious. “People might not get this from me, but I was never trying to be sexy, I always was laughing. I think that I can look sexy, but I don’t think of myself as a person that is—you know how some women walk into the room and they’re just like, “Ooh.” I’m not like that.”
She also revealed that when other artists approach her about a feature, Minaj will turn it down if she can’t write to it:
“I don’t think the new female rappers really understand who I am. A lot of the girls that came before me, they really were those sexual beings, and I was so inspired by them. But I’m not like that, I’m more the goofy girl. Even some of the new male rappers—I turned down a Gunna song because it was just moaning and groaning on the track, but Drake ended up doing it and it worked great for them. And free Gunna by the way, I have to make sure I say that. But it’s just like, I told her I’m not there. I said, ‘Look, sweetheart, I’ve put this song on 50 times to try to write to it. I can’t. I’m just not in that moment right now.’”
Minaj also wished there was more singing in rap and that women rappers nowadays would be more original. “When I started falling in love with rap, I felt like everybody was their own unique thing. Whether it was the Jay-Zs and the DMXs or the Wu-Tang Clans or the Nases or the Pacs or the Biggies,” she explained.
“Even the female rappers, whether it was Eve, MC Lyte, who I’ve always loved, even Left Eye’s voice was so unique, to Salt-N-Pepa. [Lil] Kim and Foxy [Brown] never even sounded alike to me. Everyone had their own thing.”
At the end of the day, Minaj has never been afraid to speak her mind.