Minaj feels Idol judging is 'milestone'

Nicki Minaj is "proud" be a judge on American Idol.

The rapper is a panellist on the TV singing competition along with Australian country singer Keith Urban, Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson.

"It's a milestone for me; it's a milestone for hip-hop; it's a milestone for young black women," Minaj told MTV News.

"Has there ever been a black woman [judging] on the show? This is a show that 20 million people watch so I feel like we should be represented on that show and I'm very proud of my decision to do it."

Minaj admits that committing to American Idol wasn't easy.

"Of course I had doubts but I had to realise that my fears of doing the show came a lot from what I thought people would say," she said.

"I had to really think and [realise that] a lot of decisions I've made in my career, people thought I was f**king crazy and I made them, and I continue to make the hard decisions. I continue to make the decisions that people don't have the balls to make."