Nicki Minaj is kicking the campaign for her new album ‘The Pinkprint’ into high-gear.
Fresh from releasing new tracks and shooting new videos, the Rap titan appears a-front of Complex Magazine in a edgy shoot lensed by Vijat Mohindra.
The enclosed interview is equally as engaging and sees the ‘Anaconda’ MC spill on ”Print’ (which she deems her most “personal” project yet), becoming a mother, retiring after her fifth album, and more.
Excerpts and more pics below…
Via Complex:
You’ve said The Pinkprint will be your most personal album yet. What are you addressing about your past and present that you haven’t before?
My family, loss, death, guilt…. I’ve struggled with a lot of guilt.
Guilt over what?
When you’re working and you’re busy and you’re successful, no matter what, something suffers, whether it’s your relationship with your mother, your relationship with your whole family, not being able to go to your brother’s graduation…. Certain things suffer and take the back burner, not because they’re on the back burner in your heart but because the world just moves so quickly. A lot of people, when they’re chasing their dreams, they have to leave people they love. A lot of artists feel that guilt but they don’t express it.
In 2012, when you spoke with Miss Info for your last COMPLEX cover, you said, “In five years, ideally, I’d like to be married and have kids.” This year, you said that the end goal is to make $500 million and do five albums. Would you retire after five albums and just have a family?
Yeah. I won’t use the word “retire” but I would use the word “vacation”—because I don’t believe in vacations, I don’t believe in holidays. I have to put out all six of my albums, contractually. After the fifth, I’ll probably have my baby. I wonder if I’m going to be one of those women who balances my child with a career. I always said, “When I have my baby, it’s going to be all about my baby.” I don’t want the child feeling like they don’t have all of my attention, so I always said, “I’m going to take a little break.” But we’ll see.
What’s your biggest fear?
That I’ll become so consumed with work that I’ll forget to live my personal life to the fullest. If I’m done with my fifth album and I don’t have a child by then, no matter how much money I have, I would be disappointed, as a woman, because I feel like I was put here to be a mother. I have definitely put off the wife thing because I don’t want people in my business. I’d rather not do anything that’s going to be on paper but I definitely will be married before I have my baby. I want to make sure I do it in that order. I’ve always felt like that since I was young; my mother always put that in my head. By the fifth album, I will have walked down the aisle and I will at least be on baby number one, possibly baby number two. [Laughs.] And have $500 million.
You faced a lot of backlash for the sexuality of the “Anaconda” video and artwork. A dad even wrote an open letter to you about it. What’s your response?
“Shut your stupid ass up. Bye, dad.” I laughed at it. But I also didn’t even know that that was happening.
Click here to read the full, awesome interview.
‘The Pinkprint’ drops December 15th.