Nicki Minaj's hotly anticipated debut LP, Pink Friday, will feature a collabo with blue-chip rap great Eminem, but it will also include contributions from her hip-hop alter egos, the gruff Roman Zolanski and the delicately voiced Barbie.
Minaj recently revealed to MTV News that Friday will also be the debut outing of a spanking-new character.
"There is a person introduced on Pink Friday — it's Roman's mother," Minaj said during her "RapFix Live" interview. "Roman has a mother."
The "Right Thru Me" lyricist assured fans they'll love Roman's mom, Martha, but they have to wait until the album drops next month to check out the elder Zolanski.
"You gotta wait," Minaj insisted. "You gotta wait for November 22 to meet Martha, but you're gonna love her. You're gonna absolutely adore her."
Just don't get too attached to the Martha moniker, as Minaj said she may switch it up for the album. "I may change her name," she said. "I just made up her name on the spot."
Although she didn't give up details about Martha's style, she did school MTV News' Sway on the difference between Roman and Barbie, swinging between the full-throated zaniness of the former and the feathery vocals of the latter, both of whom pop up on Minaj's hit verse on Kanye West's "Monster." Her rollicking performance on the track proved, to many, that she could hold it down as well as the song's co-stars, hip-hop heavyweights West and Jay-Z. However, the Young Money starlet revealed that if she had known her bars would be nestled next to verses from Yeezy and Hov, she would have toned down the screwball energy.
"No one's verse was on the song yet," she said of first hearing the track. "I had just an open playing field, and I could do whatever I wanted to do. Had I heard Kanye and Jay, I would have punked out. I wouldn't turn it down but I think I would have limited my creativity."
Minaj explained she initially had no idea how an artist like Jigga, who is renowned for his slickly cool lyrics and style, would take to her madcap multiple personas.
"Sometimes I feel like maybe the characters ... maybe someone like Jay-Z wouldn't like that. Sometimes I do limit myself if I overthink it," she said. "All I heard was the beat and the hook, and that's what inspired that."
What do you think Nicki's new characters will be like? Let us know in the comments!