Nicki Minaj On Cover Of Teen Vogue

Nicki Minaj covers the new Summer 2013 issue of Teen Vogue magazine. As the tagline says, the Young Money star is “fierce and fabulous” in a fringe-and-laced ballerina outfit.

In the magazine interview (previewed by the New York Daily News), the superstar rapper compares the music business to high school.

“It can absolutely feel like one big popularity contest, and you know what? I can’t be bothered,” she explains. “I can’t allow myself to play ridiculous games with grown adults in the industry. I can’t be nice to someone just because they’re hot right now. I can’t do it.”

Which may explain why Minaj and fellow ‘Idol’ judge Mariah Carey are often bickering on the set and on Twitter. The ‘Freedom’ rapper is not going to be intimidated by any artist no matter how many No. 1 hits one has under their belt.

Minaj says her rough upbringing has helped her maintain a steely exterior when it comes to making moves in the business.

“Every time my parents fought, my mother would have us move and I would have to go to a new school, which meant I’d have to face the task of making new friends. I dreaded it,” she recalls. “I had butterflies in my stomach each time: Are people going to like or hate me? … Sometimes there’d be a fight, sometimes not. I let people know I wasn’t going to be pushed around.”

The rhymer recently engaged in a heated tit-for-tat with ‘Access Hollywood’ correspondent Laura Saltman over a scathing letter she wrote regarding Minaj’s backstage behavior. In the missive, Saltman called Minaj a bully and feels her services on ‘Idol’ are not needed.

In the Teen Vogue interview, the Queen Barbz says she now ignores negative opinions about her in the media.

“I used to read the bad things people said about me. Then I asked myself, ‘Why am I reading that when I have millions of people saying great things?’” she tells the mag. “You cannot give negativity power. I tell teens, if you’re having a problem, there’s nothing wrong with deleting your social media. If people keep taunting you and you keep reading it, it’s poison.”

The Summer 2013 issue of Teen Vogue, featuring Nicki Minaj, will hit newsstands next week.