Nicki Minaj Thought of Suicide, Wanted to ‘Take My Life’

Nicki Minaj is a chart-topping pop eccentric who appears in a warrior-like bodice on the cover of the new November issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. But as she reveals, there was a time when she wasn't so self-assured. In one particularly low moment, she even considered suicide.

"It was just one dead end after another," Nicki tells Cosmo, describing her long road to stardom. "At one point, I was, like, 'What would happen if I just didn't wake up?' That's how I felt. Like, 'Maybe I should just take my life?'"

Born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Queens, N.Y., the pink-loving woman of many voices initially struggled to break big, releasing a series of mixtapes between 2007 and 2009.

She signed with Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, and released her debut LP, 'Pink Friday,' in November of the following year. The album climbed to No. 1, and in the summer of 2011, Minaj joined Britney Spears on the 'Femme Fatale' tour, introducing herself to a whole new audience.

Now that she's established herself as both an ace collaborator -- she makes almost any track she's on better -- and innovative artist in her own right, Minaj is looking ahead to releasing numerous albums and winning "an Oscar and Grammys," as she told Cosmo.

"My whole life is about being Nicki Minaj now," she says. "It's a never-ending saga."