With Nicki’s debut Pink Friday arriving next Monday, The Wall Street Journal took a look at the rapper’s upbringing in Queens and conquest to rule the world. Word to Madonna.

“Hip hop to me is so much more than New York and L.A., or one place or one borough or one city,” said the rapper, who was born in Trinidad and grew up in Jamaica, Queens. “I mean, I love being from New York—I’m from Queens, and that’s where I represent. But to me, hip-hop culture is a state of mind.”

“Everyone has inspired me,” she said. “When I was little [and] I was watching videos, I didn’t know where Monie Love was from; or where Slick Rick was from. I didn’t know Salt-N-Pepa were from Queens until later in my life. I don’t compare myself to any other New York female emcees.”

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