Nicki Minaj says her new album is a "celebration" and will have a more stripped-back sound

The rapper and singer gives an update on her fourth studio album.
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Nicki Minaj has opened up about her new album, saying it "feels like a celebration". 

The rapper and singer is still working on the follow-up to 2014's The Pinkprint in Miami, revealing in an interview with New York Times' T Magazine that the record will represent "everything in my life coming full circle". 

Discussing the album, which she says has a "super, super iconic" title that hasn't been announced yet, she explained: "Sonically, I know what the album’s about to sound like. I know what this album is gonna mean to my fans. This album is everything in my life coming full circle and me being truly, genuinely happy.

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"It feels almost like a celebration. The last album, The Pinkprint, was almost like my diary, closing the chapter on certain things and not knowing if I was happy or sad about beginning new chapters. I was really writing about feeling unsure. Now, I can tell you guys what happened for the last two years of my life. I know who I am. I am getting Nicki Minaj figured out with this album and I’m loving her.

“This is definitely the most inspired and free and excited I’ve been since I started releasing albums through a label."

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Comparing her studio albums to her early mixtapes, Nicki said: "When you’re doing your own little thing, you feel like, I can be myself, I can be crazy. When you start working with a record company, you start thinking you need a bigger sound.

"I wanted to get back to the place where I wasn’t second-guessing things so much. Sometimes simple is OK."

Nicki's The Pinkprint album reached Number 22 on the Official UK Albums Chart in December 2014. Its predecessor, Pink Friday - Roman Reloaded, debuted at Number 1 in 2012. 

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