Taking time away from the "American Idol" judging table, Nicki Minaj soaked up the spotlight on the cover of ELLE magazine's April 2013 issue.
The "Super Bass" hitmaker rocked a Tom Ford jacket with American Apparel leggings for the Thomas Whiteside-shot front page while dishing about everything from being bullied as a child to commanding respect from others.
On her dramatic make-under for her ELLE photo shoot:
“When I saw myself with barely any makeup at, it was such a… like, I’m so, so attached to my pink lipstick, it’s hard. I feel that it’s become a part of me. To go in front of the camera, without pink lips or big ol’ crazy lashes- you know, nothing – I felt naked. It was scary! So this photo shoot was a real accomplishment in my eyes.”
On experiencing bullying in school as a child:
“I went through a lot of bullying early on. Girls made my life a living hell. We had come to America from a different country. My brother and I had accents. It was very tough. So I’ve always put up this wall – it was a self-defense mechanism growing up – because I was almost ...



