Nicki Minaj doesn't hear the sound of wedding bells ringing.
In the last year, the "Truffle Butter" rapper often sparked engagement rumors by wearing two different (but equally dazzling) diamond rings on that finger. Meek Mill has denied popping the question, telling Fader last year, "It ain't really time to get married yet. We're still learning each other, feeling each other out." In NYLON's April issue, Minaj insists that they are not engaged—at least not yet. "He said that my third ring would be my engagement ring. But sometimes he calls me his fiancée, and I'm always trying to stop him, like, 'Nope! I ain't got that third ring yet!' We're just taking it one step at a time," she tells the magazine. "And, you know, if that happens, if I get married, then I'll have a child, and that'll be fun, because I can't wait to hold my baby."
Minaj, 33, is confident that Meek Mill, 28, is The One. "When he and I were just friends, he would always say, 'You remind me of my mother, and I like that because you're like a dude. You're tough like a guy and you talk like a dude.' So, I always got the sense that me being tough and bossy was a turn-on for him. And it's important for me to keep my voice. Being in a relationship shouldn't mean that you lose your voice," she says. "Being in a relationship should mean that you've met a secure-enough man to allow you, in a sense, to remain a queen."
For now, Minaj is focused on her professional ambitions. In addition to rapping, she's beefing up her acting résumé by starring in Barbershop: The Next Cut alongside Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Deon Cole, Common, Eve, Regina Hall, Ice Cube, Lamorne Morris, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyga and J. B. Smoove. "I wanted there to be a little bit of depth to Draya," Minaj says of her character. "I didn't want her just to be, you know, an Instagram thot; I wanted her to have some sort of purpose and meaning." In fact, she refused to do a twerking scene for that very reason. "Not every sexy woman is out here twerking all damn day," she says with a laugh.
As for her music career, Minaj says she's taking it day by day. Her most recent album, The Pinkprint, was released in 2014. Now, she wants to pace herself between projects. "I needed time to hear myself think again, because where I left off with The Pinkprint was a little bit emotionally unstable," she says. "Now, I want my happiness to be reflected in the new stuff."
NYLON's April 2016 issue is on newsstands March 29.