(Photo: Courtesy Vibe Magazine)

Nicki Minaj graces the cover of the February/March issue of Vibe, and after the success of her debut album and a steady stream of accolades in 2011, the hip hop phenomenon is revealing a new sense of confidence.
Minaj said she no longer feels the burden of having to prove her case to people, a feeling she said heavily influenced the making of Pink Friday.
“I felt like I had something to prove to everyone who said a female rapper could not make an album unless she was talking about her p***y," Minaj said. “And so I went above and beyond to prove that I could not talk about sex and not talk about my genitalia and still have a successful album. And I proved that. And now my time for proving things to my critics is over. I don’t really need to prove anything to anyone else anymore.”
The Young Money star said that as she's come into her own, she's taken control of her career, ensuring that what she says goes.
"It’s not hard to get your way when it’s your way or the highway. People either follow suit or they’re not around," she said. "I’m just very black and white when it comes to my business. There’s really no gray area."
Minaj, who is also currently on the cover of New York Magazine, said she has also learned to carefully mind her image in the press and the fashion world.
"I’ve made up my mind that when you see a Nicki Minaj magazine cover from now on, it’s really going to reflect me and it’s going to be something that I creatively had a hand in, because I don’t have to do it anymore," she said. "I don’t have to do things just to please people. It’s OK to do what I love because what I love, my fans love. And they’re really the only ones that should matter. The fashion world will have to come to Nicki Minaj, as opposed to Nicki Minaj trying to go to the fashion world."
The new issue of Vibe hits stands next week.

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