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"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 &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m Out&amp;quot; rapper also reveals she dreams of becoming a mother one day.\r\nThough she only appeared as a judge on American Idol for one season from 2012 to 2013, the hip-hop superstar made quite an impression. &amp;quot;The perception that people had of me completely changed because there are no cue cards, there&amp;apos;s no script, it wasn&amp;apos;t me performing a song. It was, &amp;apos;Let&amp;apos;s see your real personality,&amp;apos;&amp;quot; Minaj explains. &amp;quot;My core is a genuine human being who roots for other people. I didn&amp;apos;t want to blow smoke up their ass. I wanted every contestant to leave with something that they could remember.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nMinaj says she wants to do &amp;quot;three more albums&amp;quot; before she moves on to the next phase of her career: acting. &amp;quot;If I can do that, I&amp;apos;ll feel complete,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;One day, when I start getting a couple gray hairs, maybe it will all be only acting. I just never know. . . I&amp;apos;ve kind of become the poster child for doing the things that no one expects.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nIn fact, long before she became famous, the &amp;quot;High School&amp;quot; rapper dreams of becoming a lawyer. &amp;quot;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,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;It seems glamorous in a way. Very inspiring and ballsy.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThat 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 &amp;quot;weird epiphany&amp;quot; and decided to pursue another lifelong dream: motherhood.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;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, &amp;apos;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.&amp;apos; 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,&amp;quot; Minaj says. &amp;quot;I didn&amp;apos;t want to become a person who wasn&amp;apos;t enjoying the moment.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to love, Minaj feels it&amp;apos;s best for women to take charge. &amp;quot;Don&amp;apos;t chase any man. Put your school first,&amp;quot; she advises. &amp;quot;Men love independent women. You don&amp;apos;t have to be a bitch, but there&amp;apos;s nothing wrong with it at times. And: Men are kids at heart. They want to be nourished and pet like a dog.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/nicki-minaj-on-men-they-want-to-be-nourished-and-pet-like-a-dog-201397>