Nicki Minaj on the cover Cosmopolitan Magazine

Young Money diva Nicki Minaj, in on the cover  of the November 2011 issue of popular Women’s magazine Cosmopolitan.

Dubbing a tight leather corset styled dress, the rapper known for her colorful and and drastic look, this time went for a more subtle and  sultry fashion.

The featured article entitled "How Nicki Minaj beat the odds, and learned to rule her world” , is very fitting for the rapper after 2011 has been a breakout year for her.  In the issue she also talks holding her own as a woman in the music industry:

“When you come into the business as a woman, you have to play a lot of mind games because men can be very aggressive. It’s like chess, you have to protect your goods.”


Read more excerpts below!

On having suicidal thoughts in the past:
“I kept having doors slammed in my face. I felt like nothing was working. I had moved out on my own, and here I was thinking I’d have to go home. It was just one dead end after another. At one point, I was, like, ‘What would happen if I just didn’t wake up?’ That’s how I felt. Like maybe I should just take my life?’ I would pray to God to make me famous so that I could buy my mother a huge house.”

On her abusive father:
“He would beg, cry, stalk us… One time, he pulled my mother out of a car and dragged her for two blocks. After that, I had a phobia about unlocked doors. Anywhere my mother and I were, I made sure the door was locked, because that was my only way to protect her.”

On the difference between herself and Lady Gaga:
“I think Gaga is freakin’ dope for that. But I can’t be bothered. Give me my sweats I like transforming from completely raggedy to ‘Ahhh, I’m ready’. That transformation gives me a high.”

On what physically attracts her to a man:
“I do like a dope nose profile, one that’s straight on the side. And I like full lips. I’ve never kissed someone who didn’t have full lips.”

On dealing with guys in the industry:
“When you come into the business as a woman, you have to pay a lot of mind games because the men tend to be very aggressive. It’s like chess—you have to protect your goods. Had I just started screwing the guys, it would’ve been over because they never would’ve taken me seriously.”