Nicki Minaj Says She’s ‘As Great As the Great Men in Hip-Hop’

As the top female MC in the game today, Nicki Minaj knows a thing or two about how to be a boss. Lucky for us, she shared the dos and don'ts on how to come up in the world and boss your life up. While speaking with Glamour Magazine, Minaj gave a detailed breakdown of how she reached this point in her career. Check out an excerpt below:

DO have a clear vision for what you want to do.
"I wanted to take my time with [my new album] and show people I was capable of making something people could really relate to. Jay Z has always been a role model because he inspires people [to believe] they can go from selling drugs to being one of the most celebrated businessmen of our time. That's what I want to do for young girls, to say, 'It doesn't matter where you started in your life. You too can become a mogul and anything you want to be.'"

DO ignore labels.
"I used to be so, so hurt by the way women are labeled as bitches—it would just make me angry. I would work around powerful men all day, every day, and their attitudes were horrible, but a man just gets a pass. He gets The Man Pass! The Donald Trumps and Kanye Wests and Lil Waynes can have a bad day, they can be cocky and disrespectful and arrogant, and at the end of the day we laugh at it. With a woman it's always like, 'Excuse me, how dare you?' But I've always been a 'Where there's a will, there's a way' kind of person. I know I'm as great as the great men in hip-hop, in terms of being an MC. And I think, secretly, they all know! Your overall confidence has to come from within."

DON'T obsess over perfection.
"When I was recording [my song] 'Chi-Raq,' I went into the recording booth and I just did it in this really low, monotone voice, my chains making noise on the mike. I was just laying it down as a reference. Then I went back in and tried to make it perfect. And you know what? I went back to the original take. Give yourself some room to make a mistake and have fun. The less pressure I put on myself, the more I leave myself open for magical moments."