Nicki Minaj ‘Super Selective’ on Upcoming Work

Is it just us or is Nicki Minaj all over the place lately?

The pink-wigged rapper is on the cover of W Magazine, and the artist also surprised YouTube stars on a recent episode of chat show Ellen with Ellen DeGeneres. But Minaj’s seeming ubiquity doesn’t mean she’ll work with just anyone on just anything.

MTV caught up with Minaj collaborator Kane Beats, who said the singer/rapper is poring over new projects with a fine tooth comb. Kane elaborated:

“It’s crazy. We got one so far. She’s in L.A. goin’ crazy… She just started, so she’s really picking her music and picking the songs. She’s real selective,” he said. “She’ll pick all the beats before she even starts writing, so right now, we’re just getting music together, and it’s goin’ crazy right now.”

Kane is also working with Rick Ross on his upcoming album God Forgives, I Don’t, and says that Nicki is constantly seeking her next “Super Bass” sized hit. The songmaker indicates that Minaj is focused on creating tracks that really resonate with fans:

“She wants hit records every time and she wants to be creative,” he said. “With Nicki, it’s more about getting the music right and leaving her the room to be creative and leaving her room to do her.”

Of the alternate W cover above in which Minaj echoes countesses of eras past, artist Francesco Vezzoli, who created the look, says:

“My idea was to reproduce four iconic portraits of some of the most fascinating females of the past in a series starring an American pop-culture role model.”