Nicki Minaj told the crowd at the BET Awards that she was close to death recently -- an experience that has helped her be herself.
The rapper rambled onstage when accepting her fifth consecutive win for best female hip-hop artist, where she thanked Lil Wayne for his support, talked about writing her own lyrics and about getting the credit she deserves in the industry.
"The other day, literally I didn't tell anybody this, I really thought I was about to die. Like, I was saying my prayers to die. And I didn't even want to call the ambulance because I thought, `Well if I call the ambulance, it's going to be on TMZ,"' she said, as some of the audience laughed.
"And I would rather sit there and die," she added, looking to the crowd. "And it made me realize I don't care what anybody got to say. I'm going to do me."



















