Saweetie
Quick Facts
Cancer
Biography
Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper (born July 2, 1993), known professionally as Saweetie (/səˈwiːti/), is an American rapper. After the release of her debut single, "Icy Grl", she was signed to Warner Records and her manager Max Gousse's record label Artistry Worldwide. She released her debut extended play, High Maintenance, on March 16, 2018. Her second EP Icy was released in March 2019, and spawned the hit single "My Type."
Early life and education
Saweetie was born Diamonté Harper on July 2, 1993, in Santa Clara, California, to a Filipino-Chinese mother and an African-American father. She grew up in the Sacramento Area, attending Merrill F. West High School in Tracy and graduating from Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove. She began writing music at age 13. 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.
Career
Saweetie began posting short raps on her Instagram account in 2016. One video featured her rapping over the beat from Khia's "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)", which would eventually turn into "Icy Grl". The song was released on her SoundCloud in the summer of 2017, and brought her to the attention of Max Gousse, a well-known producer and A&R executive, who became her manager. The video for the song went viral on the Internet and went on to accrue 100 million views on YouTube as of June 2020.
To follow that up, 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 Records and her manager Max Gousse's record label Artistry Worldwide.
I do a lot of covers but this is the first time I'm actually doing original content. I leave the studio and I come home wanting to listen to really myself.
— Saweetie for XXL in October 2017.
Saweetie released her major label debut, High Maintenance, on March 16, 2018. It is composed of nine tracks and was produced by CashMoneyAP, Nyrell, and Saweetie's cousin, Zaytoven. The single, "Icy Girl" was certified Gold in June 2018, for sales of 500,000 in the US. It was certified platinum in September 2019.
Saweetie released her second major label EP, Icy,on March 29, 2019. The EP's first single, "My Type",written by Saweetie and produced by London On Da Track, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 81. "My Type" samples the song "Freek-a-Leek" by Petey Pablo, and later peaked at number 21, becoming Saweetie's first top 40 hit on the Hot 100. It was the first Saweetie song to enter the Hot 100. In September 2019,"My Type" hit number 1 on the Rhythm Radio charts, and was certified gold.
Saweetie collaborated with PrettyLittleThing to launch a 59-piece clothing collection, PrettyLittleThing x Saweetie, in September 2019. She said the theme of the capsule was "a boujie rich girl enjoying the finer things in life. I want to show the boys and girls that if you hustle hard your work will pay off." It debuted during New York Fashion Week.
Saweetie appeared on Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out as a guest performer, performed single, "My Type" which aired on VH1 on January 28, 2020.
Personal life
Saweetie has been dating rapper colleague Quavo since mid-2018.
She is the cousin of actress Gabrielle Union. Her grandfather, Willie Harper, played football for the San Francisco 49ers. She is a fan of the Sacramento Kings basketball team.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Pretty Bitch Music |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | USR&B/HH | USHeat | ||
| High Maintenance |
| — | 32 | 20 |
| Icy |
| 85 | 50 | — |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peaks | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | USR&B/HH | USRap | USRhy. | CAN | NZHot | ||||||||||
| "Icy Grl" | 2017 | — | — | — | 16 | — | — |
| High Maintenance | ||||||
| "Up Now" (with London on da Track featuring G-Eazy and Rich the Kid) | 2018 | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||
| "Pissed" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "My Type" | 2019 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 76 | 32 |
| Icy | ||||||
| "Sway with Me" (with Galxara) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | Birds of Prey: The Album | |||||||
| "Tap In" | — | — | — | 28 | — | 15 | Pretty Bitch Music | ||||||||
| "Pretty Bitch Freestyle" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
Notes
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Expensive" | 2017 | Zaytoven | Zaytown Sorority, Vol. 2 |
| "IDGAF" (Remix) | 2018 | Dua Lipa | IDGAF (Remixes II) |
| "2002" (Remix) | Anne-Marie, Ms. Banks | 2002 (Remix EP) | |
| "I'm That Bitch" | David Guetta | 7 | |
| "Give It to Em" | Quavo | Quavo Huncho | |
| "Stupid Things" | Four of Diamonds | Non-album single | |
| "Patience" | RIRI | NEO | |
| "You Come First" | Zak Abel | Non-album singles | |
| "Body" | Glowie | ||
| "Yuso" | 2019 | Kid Ink, Lil Wayne | Missed Calls |
| "Can't Do It" | Loren Gray | Non-album single | |
| "I Can't Stop Me" | Sabrina Carpenter | Singular: Act II | |
| "Too Much Shaft" | Quavo | Shaft | |
| "No L's" | Hit-Boy | Non-album single | |
| "Come On" | City Girls, DJ Durel | Quality Control: Control the Streets, Vol. 2 | |
| "Baila Conmigo" | Yellow Claw, Inna and Jenn Morel | Never Dies |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Icy Grl" | 2017 | Bana Bongolan & Soben Phy |
| "Focus" | Adam Small & Aramis Duran | |
| "Anti" | 2018 | Bana Bongolan & Soben Phy |
| "B.A.N." (Vertical Video) | Stephen Garnett | |
| "Icy Grl (Bae Mix)" (featuring Kehlani) | ||
| "B.A.N." | Sasha Samsonova | |
| "Good Good" | Bana Bongolan & Soben Phy | |
| "Up Now" (with London on da Track featuring G-Eazy and Rich the Kid) | Mike Ho | |
| "Pissed" | Christian Sutton | |
| "You Come First" (Zak Abel featuring Saweetie) | 2019 | Roxana Baldovin |
| "Yuso" (Kid Ink featuring Lil Wayne and Saweetie) | Mike Ho | |
| "Emotional" (featuring Quavo) | Christian Sesma | |
| "My Type" (Claws Remix) | Unknown | |
| "My Type" | Daps | |
| "Tap In" | 2020 | Unknown |
