Rihanna could have a baby next year

Rihanna "could be" ready to have a baby next year.

The 22-year-old singer - who has been dating baseball star Matt Kemp since January - has a list of ambitions she wants to achieve before becoming a mother, but has not given herself a definite time deadline to start a family.

She said: "I don't really plan on the age. It could be a year from now. It could be 10 years from now. Whenever is right.

"I mean, I have a lot of other stuff to accomplish before I get to kids. Whenever the time is right, I'll just know."

While Rihanna is unsure when she will have a baby, she knows she would prefer to have a son.

She explained in the December issue of Interview magazine: "If I had a girl, she'd probably be really rebellious. She would be like a bundle of karma."

The 'Only Girl in the World' hitmaker also would "love to" raise a family in her native Barbados but doesn't think it would be possible because of her pop career.

She explained: "I can't live that far away from everything now, without kids. So I certainly couldn't raise kids and have a career with the demanding schedule that I have."