Nicki Minaj Opens Up On Relationships: It’s ‘Definitely Tougher To Be Vulnerable’

Nicki Minaj may be at the top of her game, but the female rapper freely admits it can be “nerve-racking” opening her personal life up to the public — especially in her music.

Minaj, 32, dishes on that very topic in a new interview with Vogue. When asked specifically about her very personal record The Pinkprint, Minaj admits it’s “definitely tougher to be vulnerable.”

On a song called “All Things Go,” for example, Nicki raps about an abortion she had when she was a teenager and her use of painkillers. Overall, the song paints a very different picture of Nicki Minaj than people may be used to.

“As a woman in the industry, you try so hard to remain strong and to not let your guard down,” she said. “And once you let the walls down and let people see that you were a regular person who has feelings, sometimes people take advantage of that. I think that applies for everyone.”

Minaj continued, “It’s always a little bit nerve-racking to just completely let your guard down because you just don’t know if people are going to appreciate it. And then if they don’t appreciate it, you can feel like you did it in vain.”

Nicki goes on to call her album The Pinkprint “therapeutic.” However, she also admits that the album does make her “cringe” at certain verses. Overall, however, she hopes the songs inspire people, explaining that her song are based on topics that “[have] to be spoken about.”

One of those topics in question centers around Nicki’s breakup with long time boyfriend Safaree Samuels. For her, it was important to draw influence from some of the most talented musicians in history to help express herself on the matter.

“While I was doing the album I listened to a lot of Bob Marley songs and I love his approach on relationships,” Minaj said. “I love that he kind of just was able to speak about painful situations but in a very relatable way. I’m [also] very inspired by Lauryn [Hill]’s honesty on ‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.'”

But Nicki made it clear that despite the influences from other music, her record still has that distinct Nicki Minaj sound.

“My album doesn’t sound like anyone else’s album. Even the production, it just sounds like my own thing.”

The Pinkprint has been out for more than two months, and it certainly helped Nicki grab headlines at the time of its release. More recently, however, Minaj has made news more for her unintentional wardrobe malfunctions and her supposed dating life than her music.

TMZ, for example, is reporting that rapper Meek Mills and Nicki are definitely a couple, and they are putting together a proposed “world tour” as the “hottest rappers in the world.”

Meanwhile, as reported by the Inquisitr, Nicki Minaj nearly broke the internet with an apparent nip slip during her meet-and-greet with Derek Jeter during All-Star weekend in NYC.

[Nicki Minaj photo by Larry Busacca / Getty Images]