Culture
JT Interviews Nicki Minaj for i-D Magazine
As she begins the final touches on NM5, Nicki Minaj sat down with City Girls’ JT for a candid interview on the latest issue of i-D Magazine.
During the sit down, Nicki Minaj opens up about her upcoming endeavors, where she is with her anticipated album, her influences and more. JT even opens up to to the Queen native on what it felt like as a fan with Nicki went pop.
“I was a delusional little girl who had this love/hate relationship in my mind with Nicki Minaj,” JT tells a moderator from i-D when asked if she remembers when she first heard Nicki’s music. “It was because I knew how to rap always, and Nicki knew too. I was so deep in the gutter when Nicki first started. She was the round-the-way girl. She did the ‘Jump Off’ remix, and I was like, ‘She’s so pretty, she’s so hood.’ A couple of years later, you went into your more pop era.”
“It was a heartbreak moment for a hood girl. It was like, ‘Damn Nicki, you left us.’ Then you came back with your straight hair and your sexy look, and I was like, ‘Okay, so she still f**k with us.’ If you were to ever look down my tweets, there would always be good tweets and bad tweets. That was the disconnection.”
“‘Super Bass’ wasn’t even supposed to be a single, but it became huge. Rather than going back to point A, I thought, ‘I now need something to be a continuation of ‘Super Bass.” And so I put out ‘Starships.’ That’s when people in the hip-hop community really felt, ‘Oh my God, we lost her,’” Minaj admitted to JT.
“No one in my life or career has ever explained what you just explained to me that way. You articulated that so well that I was finally able to understand the disconnect and some of the heartbreak that my really hood fans must’ve felt seeing me come from The Come Up DVD and mixtapes and Pink Friday to doing “Starships” and “Pound the Alarm.”
On her new album:
The fifth album. I’m not gonna say when it’s gonna come out, but the album will be out soon. And I am working on a nail design company, where people will be able to buy my press-on nail with dope designs. I was already working on that before someone auctioned my press-on nail for $50,000 or whatever they spent on it.
On being outspoken:
Just because a person fights back, doesn’t mean they’re not afraid. I have suppressed years’ worth of things that I’ve wanted to say. People have lied about me, and I didn’t respond.
Once I realized that there’s that double standard, I decided I don’t give a shit anymore. The last part of it is that if I never rap again, I will still leave this earth as an icon. I guess there is a little less fear now at this point in my career because I realize that my fans aren’t going anywhere. I’ve paid my dues.
Well, there’s a huge misconception with people who come across as outspoken. The misconception is that we’re so strong. Just because a person fights back, doesn’t mean they’re not afraid. I have suppressed years’ worth of things that I’ve wanted to say. People have lied about me, and I didn’t respond. There’s always been a level of fear there because this is a business. This is not walking down the block and jumping double dutch. This is a job. And the same way people at a nine-to-five can lose their job, and won’t be able to pay their bills, an artist can lose their job. They can lose their spot; they can lose their money. So, there’s always some reservation there. But I’ve decided that I have to speak up now. You know, I see the hip-hop community praise so many other people for speaking up for themselves, but for some reason they seem to have an issue when I do it.
On her influences:
Foxy Brown. I still probably at times sound similar to her. I would listen to this woman non-stop. Finding out she was from Trinidad was so freaking amazing to me, because I never imagined that a rapper could be from my country. She’s so precise with her delivery, and so clear. And I really love clarity in raps. The other ones that shaped my overall style a lot are Lil Wayne, especially in the beginning, I used to do a lot of things that were similar to him and Jay-Z. One of my first faves actually was Slick Rick. I’ve always loved the British accent, I still do.
Rihanna has crossed 200 million RIAA singles certifications in the United States, becoming the first Black vocalist and first female artist in the organization’s 73-year history to reach the milestone. Her total now stands at 200.5 million.
Two certification updates on April 10 pushed her over the mark. “Unfaithful,” track three on her 2006 album A Girl Like Me, was certified 4x Platinum in celebration of the album’s 20th anniversary. Her 2005 single “If It’s Lovin That You Want,” the second single from her debut album Music of the Sun, also crossed the 1x Platinum threshold more than two decades after its release. Platinum status represents one million equivalent units in the United States, with the RIAA counting 150 on-demand streams as the equivalent of one digital purchase.
Among all artists, she ranks third behind Drake at 277.5 million and Morgan Wallen at 215 million.
Rihanna hasn’t released an album since Anti in 2016. Catalog staples like “Umbrella,” “We Found Love,” “Only Girl (In the World),” and “Don’t Stop the Music” continue to accumulate certifications without new music driving them. Outside of her Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 and contributions to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Smurfs soundtracks, she has released no new solo music in nearly a decade.
As previously reported by miixtapechiick.com, Rihanna was spotted in the studio at 2 a.m. earlier this year and told Harper’s Bazaar in 2025 that she had “cracked the code” on the direction for her next project.
J. Cole made his debut with the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Association on Saturday night, finishing without a point in eight minutes off the bench as Nanjing lost 95-81 to the Guangzhou Loong Lions.
Cole went 0-for-5 from the field, with all five attempts coming from behind the three-point line. He finished with one rebound and one assist. Cole addressed the outing on his blog afterward, keeping it straightforward. “I got to play 8 minutes in one of the top leagues in the world, got a few good looks but wasn’t able to hit one,” he wrote. “A couple more games and maybe those shots would have started to fall! Either way I’m fulfilled and grateful! Sh*t, I feel like I dropped 20!!!”
He also explained why he only appeared in one game. “Initially I was scheduled to play in at least 3 games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA. The work visa process took way longer than expected, so I was only able to play in one before heading back.”
Saturday’s game was Cole’s third time suiting up for a professional team. He played for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League in 2021 and the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Canada the following year.
Rihanna was spotted in Paris last week with her daughter Rocki Irish Mayers, marking one of the baby girl’s first public outings since her birth in September 2025. A$AP Rocky was also present, spending the day with their eldest son RZA. Their youngest son Riot did not appear in photos from the outing.
Rocki was dressed in a vintage Dior green-and-black John Galliano beanie from 2002, a gray pleated Dior dress layered over jeans and sneakers. Rihanna wore a Carhartt hat, a Prada striped polo shirt, and carried her “Dracula” Dior bag. Rocky and RZA were photographed walking hand in hand nearby, with RZA in a pink-striped tee and dark shades.
Rihanna announced Rocki’s birth on Instagram on September 24, 2025, posting a photo holding her newborn alongside pink silk baby boxing gloves. “Rocki Irish Mayers Sept 13 2025,” she captioned it. During the Smurfs premiere earlier this year, she spoke about her sons’ reaction to having a little sister. “I’ve always wanted a girl,” she said. “But God knows best, right? And I love my boys.”
Rihanna and Rocky welcomed RZA in May 2022, Riot Rose in 2023, and Rocki Irish in September 2025.
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