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Nicki Minaj on Men: “They Want to be Nourished and Pet Like a Dog”

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Nicki Minaj appears on the August 2013 cover of Marie Claire.

Nicki Minaj has a lot on her mind. In the August 2013 issue of Marie Claire, the hip-hop superstar reflects on her music and TV career — and also shares her tips for seducing a man. In the candid cover story, the 30-year-old “I’m Out” rapper also reveals she dreams of becoming a mother one day.

Though she only appeared as a judge on American Idol for one season from 2012 to 2013, the hip-hop superstar made quite an impression. “The perception that people had of me completely changed because there are no cue cards, there’s no script, it wasn’t me performing a song. It was, ‘Let’s see your real personality,'” Minaj explains. “My core is a genuine human being who roots for other people. I didn’t want to blow smoke up their ass. I wanted every contestant to leave with something that they could remember.”

Related: PHOTOS: American Idol judges, then and now

Minaj says she wants to do “three more albums” before she moves on to the next phase of her career: acting. “If I can do that, I’ll feel complete,” she says. “One day, when I start getting a couple gray hairs, maybe it will all be only acting. I just never know. . . I’ve kind of become the poster child for doing the things that no one expects.”

Related: PHOTOS: Nicki Minaj's craziest hairstyles ever

In fact, long before she became famous, the “High School” rapper dreams of becoming a lawyer. “I just loved the thought of going into a courtroom with mostly men and defending someone — just being able to persuade people with your words,” she says. “It seems glamorous in a way. Very inspiring and ballsy.”

Nicki Minaj Marie Claire
Nicki Minaj is Marie Claire’s August cover girl

That dream never came to fruition, of course, as Minaj went on to become a multiplatinum recording artist. During her Australian tour in 2012, however, the musician tells Marie Claire she had a “weird epiphany” and decided to pursue another lifelong dream: motherhood.

Related: PHOTOS: Meet all 12 American Idol winners

“For the first time, I allowed myself to feel proud of where music had gotten me, and I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. You feel the need to pay it forward, which starts with analyzing yourself with a true desire to grow. I was praying every day, ‘You know what, Lord? I want to be a mom one day, and I want to start becoming the woman who I want to parent my child.’ I wanted all of the feelings of entitlement to leave me, because some people have this life for a year or five or 10 — and a lot of them lose it,” Minaj says. “I didn’t want to become a person who wasn’t enjoying the moment.”

When it comes to love, Minaj feels it’s best for women to take charge. “Don’t chase any man. Put your school first,” she advises. “Men love independent women. You don’t have to be a bitch, but there’s nothing wrong with it at times. And: Men are kids at heart. They want to be nourished and pet like a dog.”

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