Note: This post contains discussions of substance abuse.
Nicki Minaj opened up about her struggle with addiction in a new interview with Vogue.
The rapper is currently on a press tour for her long-awaited upcoming sixth album, Pink Friday 2.
Ahead of its release, she sat with the magazine to discuss her life since her 2010 debut, the original Pink Friday, including her experiences with drugs.
Nicki shared that she was exposed to substances from a young age by her late father, who had an addiction to crack cocaine. She also said he drank and once set their family home ablaze in his rage after fighting with her mother.
Nicki told Vogue, “I think about watching my father go back and forth, and I just wish that at the time I understood that he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to. I thought that he was making a conscious effort to be addicted to a drug that would have him steal his children’s video games and sell them for money. Think about that — who would make a conscious effort to do that? Now I realize, those people weren’t making those choices because they wanted to hurt their family. Addiction took over their bodies and their lives. They were victims too.”
Nicki said that as a young adult, she never really partied or partook because of her father's struggles. Then, when she was starting up her music career, she received a prescription for Percocet to help with her menstrual cramps. While it did provide relief, Nicki said she soon found herself abusing the pills.
“No one told me that this was a narcotic and this was addictive," she shared. "Luckily, I was able to ground myself. But — once an addict, always an addict. I feel like if you’ve ever experienced addiction to anything, which I have, you always have to think twice and three times about the choices that you make.”
Nicki previously spoke about her drug use in 2021 on Instagram Live after she was accused of using cocaine. She told viewers, “I don’t know if it’s just me, but I wouldn't be embarrassed about any fuckin' drugs I did — that’s why I talk about the motherfuckin' drugs I do in my motherfuckin' music. Always have, always fuckin' will."
