Nicki Minaj scores a feature in the latest issue of Vogue. The publication takes a look at the rapper/singer's impressive accomplishments racked up in a short amount of time and her lifestyle.

Check out an excerpt from her interview below.

Born in Trinidad, Minaj came to the States when she was five, grew up in Queens, and attended the prestigious LaGuardia high school for the performing arts (it was the model for the school in Fame). Her fashion education also began there. “I was dressing in Tommy Hilfiger baggy shirts and Boss jeans, but then I met a person who dressed like a tiny lady—pantsuits, heels, lots of makeup. I thought she was larger than life. She once did my makeup—I had never seen myself made up before. I didn’t want to wash it off; I felt like I had one day to live this fantasy of being a glamour girl.” 

 

She currently lives in a condo in L.A., where she moved for the weather but also to escape “some bad memories.” Though she declines to divulge much about her personal life, she readily admits to snuggling up in hotel beds, unwinding after a performance by watching Forensic Files and Judge Judy. Minaj insists she’s terrible at small talk and never goes out much, except for the occasional foray to a favorite restaurant. “I went to Negril the other night, and I brought, like, ten of the fans who were waiting outside with me, and bought them all food!”

Now Minaj is expected to be a glamour girl every day. Her ensembles—“They’re costumes, not outfits”—are often custom-made or imported from Japan, where little-known designers like Shojono Tomo supply items like the nutty plastic apron Minaj wore during New York Fashion Week last September. (If she has yet to market her distinctive naughty–baby doll look, Minaj has already entered the world of cosmetics, launching a nail-polish collaboration with OPI and becoming a 2012 M.A.C. Viva Glam spokesperson.) In her downtime, she is far from label-obsessed. “If I can combine designer things with other things, I’m a happy camper.” Not so with accessories. At one time she was spending $50,000 a month on “Giuseppe, Versace, YSL, and Fendi shoes. And I bought tons of Vuitton bags. When you’re a young girl from Queens, you’re going to stock up on those bags.”

To read more of the interview head over to Vogue.