Rihanna has praised rising rapper Nicki Minaj, who features on her forthcoming album 'Loud'.

The singer said she believed Minaj, who appears on the song 'Raining Me', had the quality to take her to the top.

"She has a great buzz and she has a 'thing' to her,” Rihanna told Capital FM. “She is a star and that's why people love her.

“She's also really entertaining with her visual as well as her lyrics, and she has a great melody."

Rihanna added that 'Raining Men' was “a really fun song”.

Katy Perry also spoke highly of Minaj, describing her as "the truth" in a recent interview.

Meanwhile, 'Loud', which is the follow-up to 2009's 'Rated R', is due to be released in November, and also features a collaboration with Drake.

(by Jason Gregory)