Nicki Minaj has spoken out about racism in a characteristically candid new interview with Billboard.

The “Anaconda” rapper – who has never been shy about speaking her mind – revealed her concerns about the lack of racial justice in the US. “I did research on the Sandra Bland case,” she told the magazine. “That’s why it hit me so hard. I remember speaking to other women at the time. This could have been me. I’m a sassy woman. I may have given a little bit of attitude to a police officer. I could have never come home.”

Minaj also touched on the inequality of America’s prison system – which apparently sees one in three black men become incarcerated at some point in their life. Criticising the disproportionate amount of POC who are targeted; she slammed the extortionate length of drug sentences – but also praised Barack Obama for “trying to be a voice for people who no other person has ever tried to be a voice for.”

“I thought it was so important when he went to prisons and spoke to people who got 20 and 30 and 40 and 50 years for drugs,” she explained. “There are women who are raped, people who are killed and (offenders) don’t even serve 20 years. I was blown away, watching the footage of him speaking to the prisoners. They never felt like anyone in the White House cared about them. I loved that he made them people again. Because we all make mistakes. I think about how many men may have made a mistake to feed their families and then had to pay for it forever.”

She then went on to compare the war on drugs sentences to “slavery”, stating: “What it has become is not a war on drugs. It has become slavery. Or something crazier. When I see how many people are in jail, I feel like, ‘Wait a minute. Our government is aware of these statistics and thinks it’s OK?’ The sentences are inhumane.” 

You can read the full interview on the Billboard website here.