Making his way down under in December for a mammoth national tour with Irish rockers U2, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has admitted he’s hoping that 2011 will bring about one of his biggest dreams: that of becoming a father.

The 40-year-old “99 Problems” rapper – a big U2 fan, who took to the stage in Berlin to perform the U2 classic “Sunday Bloody Sunday” back in 2009 – revealed to British music magazine Q that the children of good friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (from Brit outfit Coldplay) have warmed him up to the idea of having his own brood sooner rather than later, saying five-year-old Apple, and four-year-old Moses are a delight to be around.

“They are a really cool family with beautiful kids, who happen to be good at the jobs they do,” Jay-Z admitted, revealing the tots nicknamed him ‘Uncle Jay’. The hip-hop star had high praise for Martin, who he claims is one of his favourite songsmiths. He admitted the pair wouldn’t have been friends as teenagers, with Jay-Z selling drugs at the time in New York City.

“What would I have thought of Chris at 16?” he asked. “That’s a different scenario. He couldn’t have walked through [NYC suburb] Marcy. I was a different person then. I wasn’t open to the world and different cultures. I would have been, ‘Yo! Who are you? Give me your money.’ You couldn’t have a guy like Chris walking through Marcy. He’d have got robbed. At best.”

Jay-Z is, of course, married to superstar Beyoncé Knowles, who admitted last year that she was hoping to be pregnant as soon as her year-long tour (which recently came to a stop) came to an end.

Jay-Z last played Australia back in 2006. His latest LP, The Blueprint 3, is one of the biggest selling discs of 2009.