Paper Mag Pics and interview ... :Nicki

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On Her Style Being A Mistake
“It happened like a lot of things I do — as a mistake,” Minaj explains. “Like the freegin’ clip in my hair in the ‘My Chick Bad’ video with Ludacris. My hairdresser was curling one side and using a clip to hold my hair. I was like, ‘Leave it.’ They all looked at me like I was insane — but that’s something I do. It’s the same thing with my cadences: I’m probably running out of breath or something crazy, and it’s like, ‘This is not going to work.’ But then I’m like, ‘Let me listen,’ and it winds up being magical and I just keep it and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I love it.’”

On How attending performing arts school Opened Her Eyes
“I saw gay kids, I saw white kids, I saw grunge and pink hair and piercings,” she recalls. “I think because of that, I didn’t put limits on myself or what I was going to put in my raps. I really just wanted to be diverse.”

On her introduction to Hip Hop
I remember having my older cousin keep repeating Slick Rick’s ‘Children’s Story’ so I could learn it. I wanted to know Left Eye’s rap on ‘Waterfalls.’ When Jay-Z rapped about ‘calling an audible,’ I knew what he meant. That’s what excited me about rapping. We’re talking about our hood, but you can be intelligent and witty with it, you can do whatever. I just like when people show their intelligence within hip-hop.” [however] “My first manager told me, ‘Stop playing around with your words, stop being funny, nobody’s going to take you seriously. You shouldn’t sound smart”

On How She Will Not Lose
“Three years ago, all my underground hip-hop heads thought I was crazy when I said this would happen but… it will happen,” she says perfunctorily.”I’m going to be in Tokyo, Paris–I’m going to go everywhere you can imagine. I’m going to own London. I mean, the sky’s the limit and you watch what I say. I refuse to lose. I don’t know how to lose.”