Madonna 'wanted Tupac to father her child'

Late rapper Tupac Shakur almost had a child with pop superstar Madonna, according to a new book.

'Madonna: Like an Icon', written by Lucy O'Brien, claims the 'Like a Prayer' hitmaker considered starting a family with the slain rap star during a brief fling in the 1990s.

O'Brien, who spoke to a handful of Madonna's alleged pals while writing the tome, says the star "desperately wanted children and had various relationships with unlikely men", reports New York Daily News.

The singer's friend Alison Clarkson recalls: "She was going out with him … but homegirls were saying to him: 'I can't believe you're going out with a white girl' - so she got dumped."