Nicki Minaj Talks Motherhood, Her Evolving Style, and Breaking Records at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion

On shouting out Vogue’s Anna Wintour in “Muny”

In that song, I was like, “Hey Anna—I’m gonna need that cover, baby girl.” That’s what I said to the queen! I remember being in the studio cracking up laughing—I definitely thought she would never hear it. I didn’t think anybody was going to buy my first album, and it ended up breaking huge records.

On having the highest-selling female rap tour

I feel very grateful. I have a very close knit relationship with my fans, and they went very hard for me. Their emotion and passion always does something to me. I wasn’t expecting to have the highest anything, to be honest—I didn’t even know that I was in the running. But even if I didn’t have that, I would still be so grateful, because the time that I’ve spent with the Barbz at these shows has been healing for me. They said it was healing for them and their inner child, but it was healing for something within me as well.

On the power of the Barbz

Before l had a record deal, my fans were making a moment for themselves on Twitter. I had already given them a name. At the time, there were no rappers naming their fans. Justin Bieber had the Beliebers, and Lady Gaga had the Little Monsters. Now, every single artist gives their fans a name. But it doesn’t matter, because the Barbz are still superior. They are different because what they do, they do it with passion and love. Sometimes people do things, and it’s rooted in revenge or vengeance, and that doesn’t really go anywhere. It doesn’t take off. But the Barbz and I really love each other.

On her evolving style

When you turn a certain age—especially milestone ages like 30, 40, 50—your confidence as a women just grows and grows. You know what looks good on your body; You start knowing what hairstyle fits your face, what makeup fits your face. You just start understanding yourself better. And when you understand yourself better, you forgive yourself. You are able to love yourself, and you’re able to love the imperfections that you never loved before. I couldn’t look at old photos of myself before, and when I look at them now, I love them.