Nicki Minaj Talks Drake, Lil Wayne And Bisexuality In ‘Complex’

Becky Bain | September 20, 2010 2:45 pm

In her Complex interview, cover girl Nicki Minaj (looking quite demure in a set of sexy black satin lingerie) talks about Lil Wayne’s influence on her kooky and eratic raps, reveals a song Drake wrote for her that went to another female hip-hop artist, and even comments on all those ever-growing bisexual rumors. Highlights below!

It’s an interesting read—although nowhere near as entertaining as the mag’s interview with alternate cover dude Kid Cudi and his jar o’ cocaine—on the standout rapper of the year (or arguably the last few years), particularly this exchange where the interviewer is trying to get Nicki to admit that “Massive Attack” was a bad choice as a lead single:

What are some of your biggest mistakes? Nicki Minaj: I won’t say. Were they recent mistakes? Nicki Minaj: Yeah. Recent as in “Massive Attack”? Nicki Minaj: [Laughs.] Next question.

And later:

When you look at the two singles you’ve had so far, “Massive Attack” is more experimental and “Your Love” is more conventional. Does it bother you that people were less receptive to something different? Nicki Minaj: It was a good lesson to learn early on. I actually think the public made the right choice. What was the lesson? Nicki Minaj:To just go with my heart and my first instinct. So your first instinct wasn’t “Massive Attack”? Nicki Minaj: You’re making it seem that way. I didn’t say anything. It’s just the way you looked down… Nicki Minaj: Why are you looking at my eyes?

Well said, Nicki! We weren’t too fond of “Massive Attack” either, but good for you for not admitting defeat to a journalist who clearly wants you to say you screwed up.

Minaj continues, speaking quite eloquently about being the mistress of her own domain when it comes to managing her career and creating her music: “A lot of people don’t know I wrote all the hooks on the album. I arranged the music, did the transitions. [Other female rappers] are told what to do, but I run my entire empire; I don’t think people would expect that.”

As for her tendency to switch personalities and use cartoon-like voices in her rhymes, Nicki was influenced by her friend and Young Money mate Lil Wayne. “He has always been really carefree when he raps and I was like, ‘I don’t have to stay in one cadence or stay in one tone when I rap—I can just do what I want.'”

There’s another male rapper close to Nicki’s heart—Drake, who not delivered sweet nothings about Ms. Minaj on his track “Miss Me”, and even penned her a song that went to another hugely popular performer. “You know what else he told me he wrote for me?” Nicki drops. “The Alicia Keys song ‘I’m Ready.’ I happen to love the song. I never told anyone that, I hope he won’t get mad that I said that.” Well, somebody let the cat out of the bag on that one! We’re sure Drizzy will forgive her. After all, they got fake-married.

As for the rumors swirling that Minaj is bisexual, she offers (yet again) another non-comment on the matter. “When I rap, it’s just an extension of how I speak, and that’s how I talk. If you don’t like it, don’t listen. I’m also not going to explain something just because I said it in a rap. Take what you want from it. [In the press] I didn’t say [I don’t like women]. I said I don’t have sex with women. I don’t have sex with men right now either. If [bisexual is] what they wanna call me, then fine.”

Read the whole interview and check out more pics from her Lauren Dukoff-shot photo shoot over at Complex.

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