Nicki Minaj Opens Up on Childhood Abuse, Sexuality

In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Nicki Minaj reveals that her ambition stems from a painful childhood. (Read the full story here.) "When I first came to America," she says, "I would go in my room and and kneel down at the foot of my bed and pray that god would make me rich so that I could take care of my mother." Minaj's father was a violent drug addict once set their house on fire while her mother was inside. She has no qualms about sharing these stories, even though her parents still live together and her father would prefer that she not share their history. "It's the price you pay when you abuse drugs and alcohol," she says. "Maybe one day your daughter will be famous and talk to every magazine about it, so think about that, dads out there who want to be crazy."

Photos: Nicki Minaj's Best Looks

Other highlights from the article:

• Early in her career Minaj claimed to be bisexual, but now says she just did that to get attention. "I think girls are sexy," she says. "But I'm not going to lie and say that I date girls."

• She's immensely proud of the fact that her and Drake are proving that rappers can come from any background. "At one point you had to sell a few kilos to be considered a credible rapper," she says. "But now it's like Drake and I are embracing the fact that we went to school, we love acting, we love theater, and that's ok — and it's especially good for the black community to know that's ok, that's embraced."

• Minaj has mapped out a five-year plan that includes a film career, a perfume line, a clothing line and possibly records that feature her singing as much as rapping. "There's this fear of not being perfect," she says. "There's some songs I just won't write because I'm afraid of not meeting my expectations of what I know that song could be. I don't compete with other people. I compete with myself."

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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