Nicki Minaj backs Meek Mill in court, says she’s helping him work on ‘being an adult’

With Meek Mill facing an irritated judge and the serious possibility that he'll spend more time behind bars on a probation violation, girlfriend Nicki Minaj has taken the stand on his behalf. And she's making it personal.

"She's not going to be the one sleeping alone if he goes to jail. I am," rapper Minaj told the judge in a Philadelphia court Thursday, referencing Mill's parole officer. "He's not perfect, but I can't believe how much he's changed."

Change would be a good thing for hip-hop artist Mill, 28, real name Robert Williams. His current trouble goes all the way back to a 2008 conviction on drug-dealing and gun charges. He was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison, served only a few and was paroled in 2009 on five years' probation. It's that last part that's been hard for him: He's violated his parole a number of times, and in 2014 his probation was revoked, leading to about four months back in prison, getting out on Dec. 2, 2014.

Now he's accused of submitting a suspicious urine sample and repeatedly changing his court-approved travel schedule. His attorney, Frank DeSimone, told the judge Thursday that Minaj "would not marry a criminal or a bum," TMZ reported. He also said his client had told him the night before how much he respected the judge. "He wouldn't be who he is if you sent him to the state penitentiary in 2009. He wouldn't be Meek Mill," DeSimone told Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley.

"He doesn't have a lot of structure. He can be irresponsible," said Minaj, the 33-year-old "Bang Bang" performer who was sworn in under her birth name, Onika Maraj, and didn't mention any wedding plans. "Since I've come in his life, I think I've been working on that a little bit. ... He's just getting accustomed to being an adult."

The AP said Brinkley warned DeSimone as the hearing ended: "He is thumbing his nose at me," she said, "and I haven't been convinced otherwise."

But wait, back up a second to the part where Minaj didn't say she and Mill were planning to marry. Didn't he just give her another hulking diamond this week? Aren't they, like ... ?

"He and I are not engaged," Minaj told Billboard in an interview published Thursday. "But he said he would like to give me three rings before we get married."

Ring No. 1 arrived in April, sparking a round of engagement rumors just four months after he was released from prison and the couple started dating. The second one came for her birthday on Tuesday, apparently: She published shots of another enormous rock on Instagram on Wednesday.

"Now this is what I'm talking about baby," she wrote. "Lol. Love u ... @meekmill ~ RANG finga whr da rock iiizzzzzzzz."

Now this is what I'm talking about baby. Lol. Love u ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ @meekmill ~ RANG finga whr da rock iiizzzzzzzz

A photo posted by Nicki Minaj (@nickiminaj) on Dec 9, 2015 at 7:15pm PST

If Minaj does wind up "sleeping alone" in the near future, at least she'll have those rocks to keep her company.

The case was recessed until Thursday.

Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.