In the cover story she discusses the album's current features and producers. Ester Dean, Detail, Dr. Luke, Boi-1da are all in the mix. Nicki hopes to lock down Rihanna and Drake features, but says her Young Money label mate is "unpredictable."
She also discusses becoming more mature, her love for Lauryn Hill and the need for female rappers to be confidant enough to express their true feelings through their lyrics.
“I think early on in my career, I was… I was… just a little bit crazy,” she says, lightly smacking her chewing gum. “I took everything personally. That’s just not good, and it’s not healthy.” These days, she works hard to keep herself in check. “I think one of my best attributes now, as a businesswoman and an artist and a professional person, is being able to think before I speak,” she adds. “I’ve learned that everything I think doesn’t necessarily need to be stated.”
“My point of saying what I said was that women need to have a perspective,” she starts off. “If we’re out here saying that we’re so confident, and we’re so this and so that, but we don’t even trust ourselves to write down our own thoughts and spit it on a beat?” She’s getting ignited, her volume picking up. “It just doesn’t add up.” Then she launches into a verbal love letter to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: “I knew those were Lauryn’s words, and it made me fall in love with her mind.”To read the full cover story head over to FADER. In the meantime enjoy her photo shoot for the publication.
