Nicki Minaj Spits Wisdom as Flawlessly as She Does Rhymes

Updated on April 24, 2016 at 8:00 AM

Getty | Kevin Mazur / AMA2015

It should come as no surprise that Nicki Minaj is featured as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World according to Time magazine. That's because Nicki is not only slaying the music industry — she even turns her epic guest verses into full-on song takeovers — but she's making an impact in other ways, too. She speaks her mind, even when it leads to a feud with Miley Cyrus or a tiff with Taylor Swift. She oozes empowerment, too; remember when she gave us chills by reciting Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise"? And now, in her new interview with Time, she's shedding even more light on her brilliance. Keep reading for some serious nuggets of wisdom from the piece.

Figure out what you want, and don't settle for less. "I think before I could remember wanting to do anything else, I knew that I wanted to be in charge. As a child, my mother didn't have a job where she was the boss, and I always looked at that and wished that she was the boss, and that she did make her own rules. So, from very early on, I felt like, you know what, whatever I do one day, I want to be more in charge of my business."
Decide what kind of mark you want to make. "Two of the things that I wanted to leave behind [were] that I write my own raps — a man doesnt have to write down your thoughts, you're intelliegent enough to write down your own thoughts — and number two, I would become a mogul. I exceeded every expectation I think people had for a 'rapper.'"
Know what you're getting into. "I think black women are held to higher standards. A lot of pop culture takes from black culture and oftentimes doesn't really say they got it from black culture. You know, magazines are acting like [it's] just being done for the first time because it's on a white woman's head, or it's on a white woman's body. You have to get used to living in a world that doesn't even acknowledge that you did certain things."
Never settle. "One thing I learned along the way in business is the necessity for you to be unapologetic about asking for how much money you deserve. At a very early stage in my rap career, I was making six figures for shows. If I heard there was another rapper making that, I thought, you know what? I get out there and command a crowd, I get out there and make my fans happy. I want that too."
Don't be shy about the fact that you own it. "I think women have the tendency to feel that they shouldn't ask to be compensated as much as a man doing the same exact thing. If you know you're great at what you do, don't ever be ashamed to ask for the top dollar in your field."
Find meaning in your work. "I actually remixed '***Flawless' with Beyoncé. Whenever I do something with her, I can feel the impact. It just feels like young women are being empowered and inspired."
Self-confidence empowers and inspires. "I think it says a lot when you see two young women at the top of their field — whether they are black or white — it just means a lot when you see them owning who they are, and owning the business, and owning the industry, and not taking no for an answer, and not being apologetic for who they are. I think that it inspires women, young, old, black, white, whatever."