When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot . . . and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing.

I told Khaled you the best but I'm the bestest. Better run for cover if your name is on my checklist.

Pink Friday is a celebration of my life at this moment; it is a reflection of me as a creator, and an expression of me as a woman.

I look at rap as an opportunity to act. My head is full of different characters - in each song I'm auditioning a character.

I want people - especially young girls - to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You've got to have something else to go with that.

I've always been the type of person to make everybody happy and get things done. I want everything to be 100% perfect.

I vowed that I'd never allow any man to control me or to be an alcoholic or anything like that around me, because I don't want my children seeing that.