The upcoming album -- with a "super, super iconic" title that hasn't been announced yet -- will be her fourth studio release.
"Sonically, I know what the album’s about to sound like," Minaj says. "I know what this album is gonna mean to my fans. This album is everything in my life coming full circle and me being truly, genuinely happy. It feels almost like a celebration. The last album, The Pink Print, was almost like my diary, closing the chapter on certain things and not knowing if I was happy or sad about beginning new chapters. I was really writing about feeling unsure. Now, I can tell you guys what happened for the last two years of my life. I know who I am. I am getting Nicki Minaj figured out with this album and I’m loving her.”
“This is definitely the most inspired and free and excited I’ve been since I started releasing albums through a label,” she adds.
The rapper also talks about the difference between making a mixtape on her own and creating an album for a record label.
"When you’re doing your own little thing, you feel like, I can be myself, I can be crazy," Minaj says. "When you start working with a record company, you start thinking you need a bigger sound. I wanted to get back to the place where I wasn’t second-guessing things so much. Sometimes simple is OK."
Read the full feature here, and find it on newsstands Oct. 22. Minaj's cover story is part of a T Magazine series that celebrates seven people who redefine the culture.
