Nicki Minaj delves into social issues for the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine, speaking for the first time about the death of Eric Garner, police brutality and why Black celebrities are slow to speak out against injustice. 

Like many who watched video of Garner losing his life at the hands of an NYPD officer, Minaj was disturbed by the tragedy. “It’s sickening, and I’ve been reading so many people saying, ‘Why are we surprised?’ That’s what’s really sad: that we should somehow be used to being treated like animals,” she said. “It’s gotten to the point where people feel like there’s no accountability, if you are law enforcement and you do something to a Black person, you can get away with it.”

Adding that music is more “hopeless” now than in the days of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and songs of the like, she goes on to explain how Kanye West’s “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” comment made artists think twice about publicizing their opinions. “People say, ‘Why aren’t Black celebrities speaking out more?’ But look what happened to Kanye when he spoke out. People told him to apologize to Bush!”

While West did tweet his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the typically outspoken Minaj points out that the Chicago MC hasn’t been as vocal as usual. “He was the unofficial spokesman for hip hop, and he got torn apart,” she said. “And now you haven’t heard him speaking about these last couple things, and it’s sad because how many times can you be made to feel horrible for caring about your people before you say, ‘F**k it, it’s not worth it, let me live my life because I’m rich, and why should I give a f**k?”

Minaj also talks about having an abortion and encouraging girls to have "a strong sense of themselves" in the issue, hitting newsstands Jan. 2.  

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(Photo: Rolling Stone Magazine)