A word of advice if you ever meet Nicki Minaj: don’t ask her how she’s doing unless you really want to know. “I’m so tired,” she says today. “I’ve been promoting [my mixtape] Sucka Free so much that I don’t have any time to sleep, I don’t have any time to eat, I don’t have any time to get head, I don’t even have anytime to give head. It’s just work, work, work.” That kind of response isn’t a complete shock coming from a woman who sometimes goes by “Nicki Lewinsky,” but what might be a bit surprising is that her explanation of the name goes deeper than just an affinity for oral sex.

“People are gonna hear that name and be like ‘oh my God, this bitch is a bird’ but check this out; this bitch got in the same room with the President of the United States of America. People don’t look at that on the large scale and just see that she was giving him head. I knew it was gonna get attention and people would have to something to say but you gotta understand… I’m with the president of Young Money, the hottest rapper in the world right now. Monica was able to get at the biggest person in the world and she had him to herself. She could’ve used that to her advantage but she didn’t and that’s a sad story. Nicki Lewinsky is a different story.”

Lil Wayne was tapped to participate in a recent edition of The Come Up DVD series that also featured Nicki Minaj and much like President Clinton, didn’t hesitate to use his influence to get near this woman who intrigued him. In no time at all, Nicki was an official member of Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment and prepping her Sucka Free mixtape which, besides cameos from Jadakiss and Wayne himself, features Nicki flexing her rap muscle to make sure you realize that she’s not just a pretty puppet spitting Wayne’s lyrics. Still, while Nicki stresses that she’s her own woman and more than just a sexy album cover, she definitely has a sense of humor about the whole thing.

“The metaphor does not carry all the way through… but shout-out to the president though.”

Name: Nicki Minaj.

From: Northside Jamaica, Queens.

Influences: Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill.

Getting Into Music: "[I’ve been rapping for] a couple years, maybe three. I wasn’t really taking it seriously at first; I’ve maybe been taking seriously for like a year. Fendi kept telling me that he was gonna get it poppin’ like, 'You’re not even gonna be able to walk down Jamaica Avenue anymore,' and I was like, 'Yeah, right… nobody’s gonna care about me rapping,' but all of a sudden things started happening off the Come Up DVD and I was like, 'Well maybe I should be taking this seriously then.'”

Before That: "I was singing, I was acting, that sort of thing… I really wanted to be an actress, but I stayed working because I wanted to be fly and support myself. When you act, every time you get an audition you gotta drop everything leave, so I had to put that on the back burner. I’m the next Halle Berry, people just don’t know it yet."

Getting Down With Lil Wayne: "He was on the Come Up DVD Volume 11 and that was the first time the world was about to see Niki Minaj. I was strategically put right behind Lil Wayne so that he would have to see me. Lo and behold, Wayne did watch the DVD and as he’s watching his thing, he saw mine and was like 'Yeah dawg, I wan’ shawty for my label, dawg; I’m feeling shawty, dog…” [note: Nicki’s Lil Wayne impression is priceless]

Being Compared to Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown: "You know it’s funny, I don’t think I sound like Kim or Foxy. I love them, but I don’t know why people keep saying that. I think being from New York, the swag probably has a lot to do with it. They were so strong and when they spoke, people listened; you never felt like they played the back and maybe in a way I draw inspiration from that. I may be a female but I have so much power in my words and my aura. I get that from New York. I don’t even think it’s just Foxy or Kim, New York girls are just more forward and we’re cocky."

On Using Sex to Sell: "I don’t think of that as much as I think about being relevant. People don’t like to be fooled, y’know? The sexy thing can only carry you so far and my thing is being lyrical and being focused on my music more than being sexy and having a picture where I’m squatting and licking a lollipop. I know one day that sexiness is gonna fade. That’s why you gotta hear the mixtape. I’m not just saying that because it’s me; I mean… I don’t mean to toot my own horn but 'toot toot,' the shit is crazy." Continued on page 2 »