Saweetie

With her swaggering, forthright style, rapper Saweetie broke through with her gold-certified 2017 single “ICY GRL” off her debut EP, High Maintenance. An aspirational girl power anthem, the song found her pulling together her influences, drawing upon rappers like Lil' Kim, Trina, and Khia, as well as R&B artist Teedra Moses. Saweetie also scored a Top 40 pop hit with 2019′s “My Type” off her ICY EP, and has continued to reach the Top 20 of the Hot 100 with singles like 2020′s “Tap In” and 2021′s “Best Friend” with Doja Cat. Both songs anchored her 2023 full-length debut , Pretty Bitch Music, which also featured the Top 30 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs single “Closer” featuring H.E.R.
Born in Santa Clara, Diamonté Harper grew up in and around the Bay Area, primarily in the city of Hayward. Though she aspired to be a rapper in early childhood, she excelled academically, earned a full-ride college scholarship, and obtained a degree after attending San Diego State and the University of Southern California. Harper’s interest in music intensified once she got some attention for short performance clips uploaded to Instagram. One set of nonchalantly celebratory rhymes, delivered over the instrumental of Khia’s 2002 hit “My Neck, My Back,” developed into “ICY GRL,” her debut as Saweetie. The official video for the track, uploaded in October 2017, went viral and notched millions of views, and led to a major-label deal with Warner Bros.
Saweetie’s first EP, High Maintenance, arrived in March 2018 and entered Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart at number 32. Centerpiece “ICY GRL” was certified gold the following January. Almost exactly a year after the arrival of High Maintenance, the rapper returned with a second EP, ICY. Two tracks featured Quavo, but that August, the London on Da Track-produced solo cut “My Type” took Saweetie into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Another track, “Tap In,” arrived in June 2020, followed by “Back to the Streets” featuring Jhené Aiko that October. “Best Friend,” a collaboration with Doja Cat, appeared in January 2021, followed by 2022′s “Closer” featuring H.E.R., the latter of which hit number 30 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. All of these songs paved the way for Saweetie’s full-length debut, 2023′s Pretty Bitch Music. ~ Matt Collar & Andy Kellman