Nicki Minaj Admits She Was Worried ‘American Idol’ Would Ruin Street Cred

By: Amanda Anderson-Niles

Nicki Minaj has had a lot of accomplishments for someone who hasn’t been around too long on the female rap scene. The Young Money starlet has not only sold a lot of records, but she’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, and managed to create an image that would make her one of today’s biggest pop stars. From the best in endorsement deals, to her own exclusive reality specials, MAC lipsticks, and new hosting gig on American Idol; many would say Nicki’s career continues to take off in ways no other female rapper has ever been ever to do it. But unfortunately for Nicki, her new spot as a judge on the singing competition has caused more controversy than she thought it would.

Nicki isn’t the only new female judge on the upcoming season of one of America’s favorite talent competitions. Mariah Carey has also been confirmed as a judge and the two superstars have been at each others throats for the last couple of months. Although someone close to the production staff claimed the beef was nothing more than a publicity stunt to improve dwindling ratings, Mariah told Barbara Walters in an interview that Nicki threatened to shoot her, so she had no choice but to beef up her security. This infuriated Nicki who of course denied the claims, and the female rapper took to her Twitter account to drag Mariah’s complete existence in a series of angry tweets.

Although the beef between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey has calmed down since the original reports, those on the show claim the two still aren’t necessarily on good terms. But Nicki admits in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that her biggest concern about being on the show wasn’t Mariah Carey but whether or not being a judge on American Idol would ruin her street cred and Hip Hop image.

She says:

“[There’s] a judgmental culture in hip-hop … sometimes you are afraid of being too famous because it’s almost, like, is that even cool? Being that accessible, someone you see on TV every week? I never pictured myself as that type of person. I’m still surprised that I decided to do it.”

Besides worrying about whether or not her image will suffer from being on the show, Nicki is still annoyed with Mariah Carey. However, Nicki seems to think the real reason Mariah has beef with her is because the singer is intimidated by her:

“Sometimes things get heated for their own reasons. I am scary and intimidating. I definitely demand respect. I’m also a sweet person. I’m a loving person. But I don’t want to be f*cked with.”

Nicki also took an opportunity and threw a little shade when the rapper began to speak about how unfair she thought it was that people criticize her wardrobe choices:

“I could think of at least one other person that shows more cleavage and skin than me,” rolling her eyes in the direction of Carey’s dressing room.