Nicki Minaj says trying to look sexy for men is "boring".

The `Check It Out` rapper was constantly told to act and dress in a seductive way when she started off her hip-hop career but she resisted.

Nicki is now famous for her flamboyant outfits and obsession with Barbie dolls and she insists it`s important to embrace your uniqueness as a woman rather than conform to the stereotypical concept of sexiness that pervades throughout the pop world.

She said: "When I started getting serious about rap, the people closest to me were like, `You should dress this way, you should speak that way, you should rap this way.` I just started feeling super caged in.

"It seemed the only look for women in hip-hop was sexy. I thought you had to do that. But it`s boring. The typical sexy. I mean, girls wanna be sexy but I also think you have other sides of yourself."

Nicki made a conscious decision to alter her look before her album `Pink Friday` was released in 2010 because she realised she had been suppressing so much of her personality.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper, she added: "Right before my album came out I felt like I had been hiding my personality - my comedic side."

sections: Celebrities