Inside the new issue of Rolling Stone, due out on newsstands this Friday, Jan. 2, Nicki Minaj speaks out for the first time about the role of black artists in relation to recent events regarding police violence and racial tension.
Cutting straight to the core issues surrounding Eric Garner's tragic death, Minaj said that, "It's gotten to the point where people feel like there's no accountability. If you are law enforcement and you do something to a black person, you can get away with it."
Minaj also reflects on the silence from other celebrities, such as Kanye West specifically, who received media backlash for discussing racism in the past. She referenced West's comments in 2005 during A Concert for Hurricane Relief.
"People say, 'Why aren't black celebrities speaking out more?' But look what happened to Kanye when he spoke out. People told him to apologize to Bush!" she said.
Minaj, described by Rolling Stone as "maybe the hardest-working diva in show business," feels strongly that it is sad that in today's day and age West is not speaking out the way he has in the past regarding the topic of social justice.
"He was the unofficial spokesman for hip-hop, and he got torn apart," Minaj told Rolling Stone. "And now you haven't heard him speaking about these last couple things, and it's sad. Because how many times can you be made to feel horrible for caring about your people before you say, 'F**k it, it's not worth it, let me live my life because I'm rich, and why should I give a f**k?'"
Other topics of the cover story and interview with Minaj, as previously revealed, include getting personal on her latest stuio album, The Pinkprint, and discussing subjects that had previously remained private, such as her relationship with Safaree Samuels as well as an experience with an abortion as a teenager.
