Today (Nov. 9), Vogue unveiled its December 2023 cover feature with Nicki Minaj and touched on her upcoming album, Pink Friday 2, her marriage to Kenneth Petty, and much more. She also took part in the publication’s “73 Questions” series, complete with an inside look into her Malibu, CA recording studio.

Within the intimate editorial, Nicki reflected on her father’s battles with crack cocaine and alcohol during her upbringing.

“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,” she said about the family patriarch, Robert Maraj, who tragically passed following a hit-and-run in 2021. “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.”

She also opened up about her past dependence on Percocet, which she was first prescribed to deal with menstrual cramps. “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,” she admitted. “I feel like if you’ve ever experienced addiction to anything, which I have, you always have to think twice and three times about the choices that you make.”

Nicki continued by mentioning late music legends who she felt dove further into their vices as a result of being in the public eye. “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,” the Young Money talent explained. “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.'”