The DOS and DON’TS of bossing up No-nonsense rapper Nicki Minaj is sharing her takecharge secrets with you
No-nonsense rapper Nicki Minaj charted her own course to the top. Now she’s sharing her take-charge secrets with you.
how did Nicki Minaj, 35, go from brash young singer and wearer of over-the-top cotton candy wigs to the most-charted female rapper in history? The Trinidad-born artist operates in one mode: unapologetic woman in charge. Her fierce confidence has, over the years, earned her the respect of rapper-producer Lil Wayne, who helped her land a record deal with record label Young Money Entertainment, and, no big deal, six American Music Awards, 10 Grammy nods and some big-name endorsement deals (Mercedes-benz, TIDAL, M·A·C).
Now, with the release of her fourth album, Queen, , she has her sights set even higher: “I want to be a mogul,” she says.
A mogul? That’s signature Nicki motivation. Who doesn’t want to have a little of what she’s having? Listen in on her personal DOS and DON’TS. DO have a clear vision I wanted to take my time with [my new album] and show people I was capable of making something people could d really relate to. Jay-z has always been a role model because he inspires people to believe they can go from selling drugs to being one of the most celebrated businessmen of our time. That’s what I want to do for young girls. To say, “It doesn’t matter where you started in your life. You too can become a mogul.” ” DO ignore labels
I used to be so hurt by the way women are labelled compared to men, it would just make me so angry. I would work around powerful men all day, and their attitudes were horrible, but a man just gets a pass. He gets The Man Pass!
The Donald Trumps, Kanye Wests and Lil Waynes can have a bad day, they can be disrespectful, arrogant and cocky, and at the end of the day we laugh at it. With a woman, it’s always like, “Excuse me, how dare you?” But I’ve always been a ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ kind of person. I know I’m as great as the great men in hip-hop. And I think, secretly, they all know it, too! Don’tdress DON’T dress for anyone but yourself I like looking more toned down now. I haven’t been doing it for other people; I’ve been doing it for myself. I do think when people see you looking more toned back, they take you more seriously. But women should do what makes them happiest and strongest.
I wore my colourful wigs to meetings with millionaires. I was a businesswoman closing humongous deals even when I had pink hair. DO the the work your way We don’t have a lot of women who have a huge voice in hip-hop, so the odds that a man in hip-hop will sit down and listen to Queen in its entirety are not in my favour. You just have to do your work and someday, hopefully, you’ll get the credit you deserve. And if I don’t, I have a lot of inner peace with my own work, because I know that I pushed myself and this album came out just the way I wanted it. It’s important that at some point in your life you really focus on your career, almost to the point of insanity. You’ll never get this time back. You have to want it so bad that you wake up in the morning and you think about it, live it, breathe it, eat it and see it all day. After you’ve accomplished a couple of things, then take a moment. Work and work for those first years, and then come out of the matrix a little bit and take a holiday. Don’tobsess DON’T obsess over perfection When I was recording my song ‘Chi-raq,’ I went into the recording booth and I just did it in this really low, monotone voice, my chains making noise on the mic. Then I went back in and tried to make it perfect. And you know what? I went back to the original. Give yourself some room to make a mistake and have fun. The less pressure I put on myself, the more I leave myself open for magical moments. DO ignore bad advice I always knew that I loved singing. If someone had told me, “Don’t sing on your rap album,” I would have regretted it. Always ask: what are their motives? It’s up to you to know who you are so that you can put all the advice you get together, sleep on it and make a decision you’re going to stand by. It’s better to fail having followed your heart than to fail based on someone’s empty advice. Say “Thank you” and keep moving.