October 8, 2017, Weekly Music Commentary featured rising star (at the time) Cardi B. I remember it well because the post examined how Cardi was part of a movement within the music industry. In this social media age, everything is on the table. There are no skeletons in the closet or secrets. The artist of today is able to live life without repercussions. However, there is another broad movement within the music industry. Women are making great strides for recognition. Many years I have written about the contributions of women in music, and now we are witnessing and hearing their stories frequently. Today, Weekly Music Commentary is featuring rapper/songwriter Saweetie.
The young rising star in the hip hop community may not be a household name yet, but her work has certainly been recognized and her fan base grows daily. Nevertheless, we look at Saweetie’s recent career moves right after the historic Grammy win by Cardi B in the Best Rap Album category. She is the first solo female artist to win in the category. Progress? Without a doubt. Now we are left to think about what happens next. What are the implications of that Grammy win?
As I prepared for this week I grappled with the idea for a title. With the knowledge that I chose to feature Saweetie, I thought about where we are in the state of the music industry. More importantly, where does Saweetie fit today? Therefore, the title and post answer the previous question.
Saweetie was born Diamonté Harper on July 2, 1993, to a Filipino mother and African-American father. She grew up largely in Hayward, California and spent much of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area but finished high school in Elk Grove, California attending Monterey Trail High School She began writing music at age 14. After high school, she went on to attend San Diego State University before transferring to the University of Southern California where she studied communications and business. After graduating, she began to focus on her rap career.
Saweetie began posting short raps on her Instagram account in 2016. One video featured her rapping over the beat from Khia’s classic “My Neck, My Back (Lick It)”, which would eventually turn into “Icy Grl”. She first released the song on her SoundCloud in the summer of 2017 and later released a music video for it in October of the same year. The visual, which went viral on the Internet, would go on to gain sixty-four million views on YouTube as of December 2018.
The fame was sudden for Saweetie as her presence on social media brought new fans. Saweetie released in that same month a freestyle rap called “High Maintenance” accompanied by a short clip of herself rapping a verse to the song, all while chilling in her kitchen. It would go viral on Instagram and Twitter as well. In October 2017, she released a video for her song, “Focus”, which samples DRAM’s “Gilligan”. In January 2018, she was named Tidal’s Artist of the Week and one of Pigeons & Planes’ Best New Artists of the Month. During Super Bowl LII in February 2018, she was featured in an ad for Rihanna’s cosmetic company, Fenty Beauty. That month, she signed to Warner Bros. Records in partnership with Artistry Worldwide and her own label, Icy Records.
“‘ICY GRL’ was everywhere, my name is everywhere right now, because it got covered in a way that I will forever be thankful for,” Saweetie says. “My fans look up to me. When they see me out here doing it, it makes them feel like [rapping is] achievable.”
It was right about this time when I took notice of Saweetie. In the middle of a radio interview, she was asked to rap freestyle. Although one of the radio hosts dismissed her skills as “okay”, it was apparent that Saweetie was on her way to bigger things in music. So far I have been correct.
Impressing me further was what she said during the interview. As it continued I felt Saweetie had a plan for her career. For Saweetie, the goal is recognition. She looks to fight for everything she can achieve. “When you’re trying to break into the industry, especially rap, you go through this phase of people not taking you seriously. Especially as a woman; like, can you rap like a man? Can you make a song that is as impactful as a man’s? In rap, you’re constantly having to prove yourself.”
Saweetie has certainly caught the eyes and ears of music critics and fans alike. “Immediately all the major blogs picked it up,” Saweetie recounts. “It was gratifying to see the respect I was getting from these writers. For a long time, [people] were seeing me as just a social media rapper. I definitely had a lot of moments of self-doubt and thinking, like, ‘Damn, I need to step it up.’ After ‘ICY GRL’ gained this momentum, that’s when I felt like I was on my way.”
What will be the next step for Saweetie? Well, I’m very sure that there will be more music. She appears to be a workaholic, ready to put in the work in order to achieve success. Moreover, Saweetie is well within that wave of young women ready to be heard in music. Will she be the next Cardi B? Absolutely not. Cardi B is an original, but so is Saweetie. The trail was blazed before Saweetie, but she will deliver music in her own unique way. I’m sure of that.
We now can look ahead for more music from Saweetie, and young women pushing forward in the music industry. Her words really are the best way to end this post. “Hip-hop has a lot of pre-existing standards and is so male-dominated. But people are starting to recognize the new wave that’s coming. There’s just so many dope women coming out right now, and I feel like I’m part of that next generation.”