11 Revealing Quotes From Nicki Minaj’s Hot 97 Interview

May 28, 2013 - 3:54 pm by VIBE

After ditching her Summer Jam performance last year, Nicki Minaj’s relationship with New York radio station Hot 97 seemed damaged. But now the Barb is back to make amends. During a sitdown with Ebro and Peter Rosenberg (who took the infamous jab at “Starships” that made Nicki cancel her appearance), Nicki apologized for reneging on her performance and also talked about getting back to rapping and why she dabbled in pop. Check out the best quotes.

On why she should’ve performed at Summer Jam

“In hindsight, I should’ve just come and... I should’ve just did the show because I’ve never allowed anyone to—no matter what I’ve gone through personally or professionally I’ve never allowed that to make me let my fans down. And even if it wasn’t a Nicki Minaj fan, just a fan in general. Somebody that was there and paid to see the show... I apologize for not coming out and doing the show.”

On Peter Rosenberg’s background

“I get it. That’s what you do. I guess to me I just don’t know your résumé. So I never found you funny. I never found you entertaining. I never found you smart. I just found you annoying... To me, you don’t have enough of a résumé to make those comments.”

On the success of "Starships"

"I don’t give a rat’s ass if people don’t like ‘Starships.’ ‘Starships sold 7 million copies worldwide. That means 7 million motherfuckas love 'Starships.'”

On doing pop music

“I am not your typical rapper. I am not your typical person. I just did the biggest TV show in America for God’s sake... But I appreciate the fact that you see me as an MC because that’s what I do and that’s who I am. People try not to give me my credit. But I really do this, so I understand when I step out and do a pop song, it’s like, ‘Damn, Nick, really?’ A lot of people are really disappointed and I totally get it... But I wanted to experiment.”

On trying out different sounds

“I never put a limit on myself. And I don’t like when—especially Black women—put a limit on what they can do. You should be able to try whatever the hell you want to try as long as you’re keeping your integrity.”