On the road to her third album,The Pink Print, to be released later this year, Nicki Minaj continues to represent for the ladies as she has done since the debut of her first album in 2010. With a host of accolades and entrepreneurial ventures outside of the music industry, including her own wine, perfume, and a clothing line, remember, Nicki conquered the rap industry first, a feat she said is not easy for females.

"It takes a lot of work and it doesn't just happen overnight," Nicki told The Breakfast Club about her road to success in the rap industry. "It's not a female-friendly business. Hip hop is not female-friendly at all."

Before releasing Pink Friday, like most aspiring artists, Barbz hit the pavement; she dropped mixtape after mixtape trying to get her foot in the door. Ultimately, her grind paid off and now she is recognized as one the top females in the game who has also paved the way for more.

But when asked if she was shocked that there aren't many female rappers who came after her, Nicki explained, "I think that there are women in the [rap industry] that do their thing, but for whatever reason they don't get the recognition. That has nothing to do with me, that's something you have to take up with pop culture," she continued. "But, I am not surprised because when I was out there grinding and putting out tapes it was hard for me."

Nicki dropped the first single, "Pills N Potions," off her third album on Monday (May 19). The track features an infusion of Nicki's pop vocals and hard-hitting rhymes, which she describes as "truthful and honest."

As for her album as a whole, "I don't want to label what I am doing," she said. "This is a meaningful body of work."

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(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)