By Jenna Talavera

Last week, I tagged along with MTV News for the Mixtape Daily shoot with Nicki Minaj at Baisley Pond Park in Queens, New York (I live just a few minutes away). A lot of people in Queens have much respect for Nicki as a writer, singer and artist whose lyrical content is fun and playful — but don’t forget, she has a flow so crazy she can hurt your feelings. She’s been highly recognized after working with Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne and the Young Money Crew.

Waiting for her to arrive at the park, I didn’t know what to expect or even make of the day ahead of me. The only thing that came to mind was “Nicki Minaj is a bad bi—!” (in the best way possible!) She stepped out of the white SUV in a white tank top, glittery pink leggings, and strapped heels, complemented by gold earrings, big chains and bracelets. After going through the details of how the interview would get started, she had a few creative ideas of her own. She wanted to incorporate bikes into the shoot, and for her to take creative direction showed me that she has no problem voicing how she wanted her segment to look.

After meeting up with Atlanta’s DJ Holiday, the interview got started with Nicki sitting on a blue motorcycle while her girls stood next to her and the guys stood behind her wearing “I Wanna Minaj” T-shirts. A yellow Ferrari rolled up next to us, followed by a group of dirt bikes doing wheelies and other stunts around the park.

Many fans that walked through the park were shocked to see her there and asked for pictures. She was appreciative — but also concerned about the group of girls that weren’t in school. She said, “Shouldn’t you guys be in school right now? What are you doing out here? Go back to school and come back later!” Everyone at the park heard some of the tracks from her mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty.

I got to see the many sides of Minaj, whether it was Nicki the Ninja or Nicki the Boss. As she explained to Mixtape Daily, “A bad bi— is an exclusive, smart girlie-girl who holds her own” — and that’s something she definitely is!

Source: MTV Newsroom