American rapper Nicki Minaj has dropped the fourth wall, revealing for the very first time the regret she has long carried for her now ‘famous derriere’.

The artiste, while sitting in a recent podcast interview with American media personality and former rapper Joe Budden, explained that, in the initial stages of her career, like many other women, she struggled with body image issues.

Body image can be defined as a a person’s emotional attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of their own body.

The Only rapper explained that the insecurities she had surrounded her small buttocks, which led her to seeking and receiving buttock augmentation injections (ass shots) without first getting medical advice.

“It wasn’t acceptable to have surgery at all or anything, and at the time I had never had surgery. I had…ass shots ,which til this day I realise even what I did and even with me not consulting with anyone to do something like that, how insane that was…. .” Minaj said.

The diva went on to note that her day-to-day environment played a primary role in how she viewed her body, sharing that men in her camp at the Cash Money Record label, including American rapper Lil Wayne, who was very instrumental and present during her budding years, would invite different, but similar ‘big butt’ women to the studio each day.

The rapper explained that being frequently surrounded by these women and having to constantly be subject to overhearing the discussions men in her camp would have about big buttocks, resulted in her feeling inclined to try to match up to the men’s standard of beauty.

“All I would hear them talking about is big butts and I didn’t feel complete or good enough, good as those girls because I’m like ‘Oh My God, you know, this is what you’re supposed to look like in the rap culture and I don’t look like that,” the artiste expressed.

Describing herself as the little sister in the group, Minaj shared that her insecurities were further fueled by jokes directed at her smaller buttocks by members of the Cash Money Record label, including Lil’ Wayne, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda and Mack Maine.

Although Minaj explained that they probably meant no harm, as they were unware of her insecurities, she noted that she did not identify the humour in those comments.

“I think they said stuff sometimes jokingly… but to a young girl or up and coming rapper or anything like that, when it’s from someone like Lil’ Wayne it matters. Like, so even if they are joking they don’t know that the person that’s there in that room with them is not finding it funny.”

The artiste then went on to concur that, for her then, that was an experience, but today, having a big butt in the rap industry is a part of the ‘female rapper starter kit’, which is evident in rappers such as Australian Iggy Azalea and Americans Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Saweetie.

In her lament, the rapper expressed that she wished the Nicki of 2008 appreciated more things, which included her physical appearance.