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Continuing in the new VIBE tradition of split covers, Nicki Minaj is one of June/July’s cover subjects. In the feature titled “Character Study” written by Siobhan O’Connor, rap’s latest “it” girl shares some interesting insight to her new found fame, female MCs before her and her weird voices. Check out some experts from the cover story which hits stands June 15th.

“People don’t get when you’re off, or you’re having a bad day,” she says, obliquely referring to the photograph that bounced around the blogs of her hand- in-hand with Diddy, looking especially miserable. The speculation was inevitable: Had she been crying? Was she just tired? Are they doing it?

“When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly,” she says. “The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot . . . and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing.”

“I’m not abandoning the funny voices. I just did a crazy tribute to ODB’s ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya,’” she says, perfectly impersonating the late Wu-Clansman. “But it’s coming up more with the album. I had a teacher in elementary who would stand on her table and whisper. We’d all turn around like, ‘What is this lunatic doing?’ But she would achieve what she wanted. She wanted us to stop talking and listen. I feel like I need to mellow it down so people can hear what I have to say.”

Nicki Minaj covers the June 2010 edition of Word Up Magazine!

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Nicki Minaj is on the rise, the Queens M.C. is doing her thing in 2010, not only has she resurrected a New York rap scene but at the same time she has placed herself at the top of the list of the best female M.C. in the game right now. Nicki sat down with XXL to shed some light on all the rumors, where she sees herself in the game and what influence Young Money CEO Lil Wayne had in her life. Check out some excerpts from her interview.

Your buzz has been growing more and more each month. How has that felt for you?

Yeah, I guess it has been growing, thank God. I dunno, it’s been an exciting whirlwind. I never really know what to expect. But the buzz has definitely been heightening, so I’m happy.

When did you first start to feel that things were coming together for you?

I definitely think that, when I shot the [“Up Out My Face”] video with Mariah Carey, I started feeling like, Wait a minute, this is not something I really ever envisioned for my life just nine months before that. (more…)