Nicki Minaj was convinced she was going to hell

Nicki Minaj was terrified she would go to hell as a child.

The 'Your Love' rapper, who is well known for her outrageous dress sense, was taught pre-marital sex was bad as a youngster and was concerned after she had her first sexual encounter she would end up going to hell.

She said: "When I was younger, I felt like I had been taught that pre-marital sex was bad, and so I always felt like if I had pre-marital sex I would go to hell. So when I did, I really felt like, erm...

"I suppressed that a lot. So I really went through years of trying to make myself feel comfortable. Like, 'OK, I'm not going to hell.'

"But it was scary at that time I was younger, and you know that's all I'd been taught. So I spent a lot of time beating myself up."

However, her background has led to her now becoming a strong character, something she feels she was born with.

The 26-year-old star added to NME magazine: "I think people are born with star power. I do think that there is something inside of people that when they're born they're ambitious.

"I feel like I was going to win, whatever I have to go through. I'm not gonna let up on it."