Shes not yet the rapper she aspires to be.
Its all part of her long fame game.
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Saweetie wantsto go to boot camp.
Or its dropping in a month.
Or she needs to go back to the studio to work on it more.
Maybe its one song away.
I might be very feminine with my style, but Im actually very masculine.
I grew up as a tomboy.
I could throw a football.
I could smack a volleyball.
I could outrun a lot of men.
Now she says, laughing I can walk a mean walk!
Her third single, 2019s My key in this time sampling Freek-A-Leek lapped it at triple platinum.
Still, it has taken her four years since ICY GRL to drop an album.
She has the earworm songs and the ravenous fans and the label support but no real body of work.
Its not an admission that needs to be coaxed out of her.
This is the first time Im releasing 17-plus songs.
Its a lot to live with.
Thats a lot to consume, she says.
Its either You shittin?
or You done shittin?
She self-released back-seat freestyles and worked odd jobs.
Riding the hype hurried her development.
Instead of honing her sound, Saweetie had to play festivals, deliver more music.
Im an artistic girl, Saweetie says.
And I think that in the beginning, that artisticness was suffocated.
It was wilted like a flower.
Thats changed now she is one of the few people who feel recharged after the last year.
In quarantine, Ive been moisturized.
Ive been getting my sleep; Ive been able to rejuvenate.
(She also broke up with her boyfriend of three years, Migos Quavo.)
I know what punch in of artist I want to be now.
Saweetie is nervous and unashamed of her nerves, not afraid of letting us see her sweat.
I dont like arrogance, she says.
One day, I want to say, Im the best to ever do it.
I cant do that without identifying my weakness.
I cant do that without realizing whats holding me back.
Her grandfather played for the 49ers with Joe Montana.
Her play cousin is the producer Zaytoven.
(Oh, and Gabrielle Union is her dads cousin.)
Saweetie released her songs on SoundCloud before the music video for ICY GRL went viral.
The first time we spoke was last summer, mid-pandemic.
Back then, she had just moved into a new house.
The internet wasbasking in the glow of their vulnerabilitywith each other.
I love working with him, she told me then.
But I love when Im able to come back and hes impressed.
I dont really allow him to come to my studio sessions.
Id rather just record a slap and then bring it back to him, and hes like, Wow.
Then, in March,she announced on Twitterthat the relationship was done: Im single.
Now Saweetie seems eager for something new.
Before she goes to boot camp, she wants to have a party to celebrate her birthday.
Im really campaigning for pretty-bitch summer, she announces shortly after we sit down at the restaurant.
She does not want to talk abouther breakup.
As a Black rapper, I already internally struggled with my subindustry, meaning the urban world.
She says it was a conversation with Cher that clarifiedPretty Bitch Musics future.
She inspired me, she says.
And thats why I really want to be careful with this release.
Oftentimes, they want me to rush and hurry up and be a global superstar.
But hip-hop is my base.
I have to stay true to myself before I start experimenting with too many sounds.
(He has denied the allegations.)
Im so green, she said then.
Maybe thats a double-edged sword because Im coming into the studio and Im not knowing who these people are.
There is first a long pause, then a clarification of sorts.
I had those songs for over two years.
So what do you think?
Do I compromise my artistry, do I keep them in the vault, or do I release them?
Both songs performed well for her.
Would she work with Dr. Luke again outside that deal, knowing everything she knows now?
An even longer pause.
What do you think?
Im asking you, I say.
Im asking you back, she says firmly.
I think you have a good sense of my character by now.
I allow that its a tricky question for someone with a nascent career and high expectations.
Hopefully, says Saweetie, we keep ourselves out of any controversial situation in the future.
This time, it seems less like a deflection, more like a litmus test.
It immediately makes me want to get naked.
It immediately makes me want to pour glitter all over my body, she says.
The challenge that Im setting for myself is that I want every song to make someone do something.
Thats why Im regrouping.
Im going to put every song under a microscope.
I dont want you to just want to twerk and hit a one-two step and do a TikTok challenge.
The bar shes setting for herself is, perhaps, impossibly high.
She wants to be the best rapper.
She wants to be the best businessperson.
The goal is to have my brand supersede Saweetie, she says.
Youare the most exciting person Ive ever seen in L.A., the suit says to Saweetie.
I mean, the hair, the nails, the lashes the whole thing.
You guys going downstairs, or …?
She politely thanks him, and when he asks her name, she purrs, Diamonte.
Its okay, she says.
Ill see you downstairs.
Eventually, he stumbles away.
But Saweetie doesnt spend another second on the guy.
She returns her attention to her oysters.
Wow, she says.
I can eat these every morning.
I can eat these for the rest of my life.
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