Nicki Minaj Accepts the Award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist During the 2014 BET Awards
Nicki Minaj accepts the award for best female hip hop artist during the 2014 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California June 29, 2014. REUTERS

Nicki Minaj's album cover for "Anaconda" featuring her booty caused controversy and uproar across the web. But she was not always so bold, her former manager says. Debra Antney, founder and CEO of Mizay Entertainment Management Company and the former manager of Nicki Minaj, claims that she had the pleasure of seeing Nicki go from a very timid girl into an international superstar that does not have the word "shy" in her vocabulary.

Debra Antney worked with Nicki on her 2009's stellar "Beam Me Up Scotty" mixtape and was instrumental in launching Nicki into stardom, especially in the world of rap. In an exclusive interview with Vice, Debra shared that Nicki needed a lot of improvements when she was starting. The voice was there, but she had a lot of personality issues. Fortunately, Nicki really wanted to sing. Debra just needed to fine tune her vocals and her confidence level. "Beam Me Up Scotty" was the culmination of all Debra's efforts and the start of everything for Nicki.

Asked what was the one thing that Debra had to focus on improving, the manager shared, "Her self-esteem. She really went through a lot of stuff-trust factors and all those kinds of little things."

Debra said that she put Nicki under vocal training so that she could be more comfortable with her vocals. Nicki trained with Jan Smith under the direction of Debra, Vice reports. The mixtape that is "Beam Me Up Scotty" opened a lot of doors for Nicki, the manager said.

The manager did not mince words about the efforts she gave to help Nicki gain her footing in the rap and music scene.

"Just remember that timid little girl. I put her through hell and made her stand up to every damn thing. There was no stepping down. There was no falling down. There was no nothing. We went at it," Debra detailed.

Now, all these traces of timidity are gone. Little girls are even dancing to her "Anaconda" single. She is performing with world-class artists and holding her own. The rapper was starstruck by Beyonce and Jay-Z, who served as her inspiration for years. Being able to perform with them just proves how far she came from the girl Debra Antney is describing to Vice magazine.