In an interview with the esteemed fashion magazine Vogue, Trinidadian-born female emcee Nicki Minaj recently opened up about her past addiction to the drug Percocet (also known as Oxycodone). The drug has become highly prevalent in hip-hop culture and has been referenced in various songs, most notably in the track ‘Mask Off’ by Future.
Speaking about her addiction, the lyricist (real name Onika Maraj) stated, “I feel like if you’ve ever experienced addiction to anything, you always have to think twice and three times about the choices that you make.” Although Maraj did not specify when she was addicted, the emcee unveiled that she was initially prescribed the drug to help with menstrual cramps and pains.
However, after a while, she was using it to get by daily. Opening up about this, she disclosed, “No one told me that this was a narcotic and this was addictive. Luckily I was able to ground myself. But — once an addict, always an addict.”
The Queens rhymer told Vogue that she believes being famous increases the risk of an individual falling victim to drugs as it’s hard constantly being watched. She highlighted other musicians who have suffered, such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
Elaborating on this, Minaj continued, “Look at some of our biggest celebrities. They eventually either get laughed out of wanting to go outside anymore, like Michael Jackson, or criticized, like Whitney Houston, or they fight silent battles, like Prince. These are some of the greatest of all time. And one day, they decided, ‘You know what? I’d rather self-medicate and be in my own world.’ ”
The ‘Itty Bitty Piggy’ artist revealed that seeing her father struggle with substance abuse also shaped her view of drugs, divulging, “I think about watching my father go back and forth, and I just wish that at the time I understood that he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to.”
She continued, “I thought that he was making a conscious effort to be addicted to a drug that would have him steal his children’s video games and sell them for money. Think about that — who would make a conscious effort to do that? Now I realize those people weren’t making those choices because they wanted to hurt their family. Addiction took over their bodies and their lives. They were victims, too.”
