Filming at a recording studio in Malibu, Calif., Nicki Minaj participated in Vogue’s famed 73 Questions series ahead of the release of her album, Pink Friday 2. If you want to take the time to watch 19 minutes of Minaj giving her answers in a low-energy, almost eerily calm fashion, be our guest. But we decided to give you some of the standout questions and answers from the interview! You’re welcome.
Can you give us a freestyle?
She’s prompted by the interviewer behind the camera to drop a bar or two and include Anna Wintour in her lyrics. After taking a few seconds to gather her thoughts, she starts a beat and cleverly raps, “I heard I’m who they sent for. Said you were a ten you must’ve meant four. Hot in the summer and the winter. Hello, Anna Wintour.”
Who does she hope to work with in the future?
Ms. Lauryn Hill (given that she’s frequently late and doesn’t show up to things, good luck). She later claims in the interview that her album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, changed her life and even quoted one of her lyrics in her high school yearbook: “To survive is to stay alive in the face of opposition.”
Why and how was her first album titled Pink Friday?
Minaj’s debut album Pink Friday dropped in November 2010, the same year that she signed as the first woman to Young Money Records. “Well, I wanted something that represented my favorite color, pink. And another member of my team at that time said ‘Pink Friday’ and I fell in love right away.”
Where was she the moment she heard herself on the radio for the first time?
She heard her voice on the radio when she was working at Red Lobster almost 20 years ago. The thing she hated the most about working at the restaurant was constantly having to wash her clothes because of the smell. She also revealed that she did more waitressing, customer service, telemarketing, working as a receptionist and (strangely) selling fire extinguishers before becoming famous.
How does she describe her fashion and style early in her career?
“Kooky,” but she doesn’t think that describes her style today. She grew up heavily inspired by Salt-N-Pepa: “[They were] sort of really cemented into my psyche at one point and it’s why ‘til this day that I am in love with bamboo earrings.”
How has having a baby affected how she recorded her newest album, Pink Friday 2?
Some of the songs were written as far back as four years ago. She says that she couldn’t record sexually explicit songs while she was pregnant and ended up having writer’s block even after giving birth. “So now I’m doing a balance of what I think feels like Nicki Minaj, but doesn’t make me, you know, feel like ‘eek’.”