Nicki Minaj has said she would be "very upset" if she heard children singing along to the "dirty" versions of her hits such as Stupid Hoe. "I don't want children cursing," she said. "I'm very strict on my nieces and my little brother. They have to listen to clean versions of music." The rapper, known for the liberal use of "pussy," "dick" and bitch" in her lyrics, added that she's a puritan at heart, and believes children need protecting.
"If you asked any adult, 'Would you like your children knowing every part of your life and speaking exactly the way you speak when you talk to adults?' they'd say no, so I'm a firm believer in children remaining children," the 29-year old rapper said in an interview for the Guardian's Weekend magazine, to be published on Saturday.
Nonetheless, she said she gets annoyed when people suggest she should tone down her lyrics for her young audience, claiming it is sexist. "Why do people ask me to lose swear words? Do people ask Eminem to lose swear words? Do they ask Lil Wayne to lose swear words? Nobody stops them and says 'Would you stop swearing swearing... for the children, please?'" She told the Guardian that the sensible solution was to have a clean version for the children and an explicit one for adults.
Minaj met interviewer Simon Hattenstone in London following the release of her new album, Roman Reloaded. The video for lead single Starships was released on Friday. The "explicit" version on YouTube features her dancing in a pink bikini on a tropical beach.
In the Guardian interview, Minaj also discussed her troubled childhood, including her father's various addictions. "It's weird, because when he was on crack, he was more peaceful, and when he would drink, he became loud and violent," she said. "Each drug has its own spirit." Finally her father completed rehab, "started going to church a lot … and started changing his life".
Having experienced its impact first-hand, Minaj has "vowed" never to date an alcoholic. "I don't want my children seeing that," she said.
Read the full interview by Simon Hattenstone in Saturday's Guardian Weekend magazine.
