On being a boss: “I’m on 15 to 25 conference calls every few days strategizing with my team. I think a lot of artists sit back and have it done for them. Sometimes as women in the industry—if you’re sexy or like doing sexy things—some people subconsciously negate your brain. They think you’re stupid.”

On staying relevant: “It’s corny when rappers feel like they’ve made it and they don’t have to prove themselves anymore. You should always be competing. You should always be trying to show that you’re the best. My album is going to be important to hip-hop.”

On what she learned from her mother: “My mother always had this attitude that she didn’t take no for an answer. So I guess that carried on to me.”

On “American Idol”: “Once I did Idol, a lot of people would come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re smarter than I thought,’ ” she recalls. “What does that mean? Was I making weird faces [that made you think] I was stupid?” Viewers also saw Minaj’s combative side, in a leaked video that showed her arguing with Mariah Carey, another new judge at the time, during the show’s auditions segment. Both women eventually exited. Still, says Minaj, “Thank God I did that show. At least I was able to show my true self, speak and have a mind.”

On “Anaconda”: “Everything we see that’s labeled as beautiful is very skinny,” she says about Anaconda. “In the song I kind of say, ‘F— them skinny girls.’ But it’s all love. I consider myself a skinny girl.” She adds, “I went overboard with the video to show that I’m not going to hide. And those big-booty dancers I have, they’re not going to hide. Black girls should feel sexy, powerful and important too.” Famed fashion designer Robert Cavalli calls her an “ambassador” for the growing acceptance of a shapelier female silhouette: “She inspires women to embrace their curves, and to be more confident.”

On Beyoncé: “There’s something about her work ethic that always made me feel like no matter how hard stuff gets, I’m not allowed to complain. Some women give me the feeling that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”