Saweetie on the April 2021 cover of Cosmopolitan.
Dennis Leupold
Saweetie stars on the April cover of Cosmopolitan, and in the accompanying interview, she discussed another chat she did early on in her career that gave her “PTSD.”
The “Icy Girl” rapper reflected on her come-up in late 2017, when car raps over old-school beats made famous by female rappers cemented her status in the rap game. But when Hot 97‘s Ebro Darden questioned it during a February 2018 interview, described her freestyle as “basic” and noted she needed to work harder to “impress” him, that’s when she felt stunted.
“It was a really dark point in my life. I went from being so loved so quickly because of ‘Icy Grl’ to, on my first promo run, well, you saw the interview. The script flipped really quick, like night and day. I was like, ‘Wait…'” she told Cosmo. “I had PTSD from that.”
Darden’s earlier question of whether she’s a “rapper rapper or just a pretty girl who raps a little bit” has been echoed with other pretty privilege criticisms of Saweetie throughout social media. Her upcoming debut album Pretty Bi— Music, which is set to be released this spring, is her “way of taking back all those years where I feel I had to dim my light.”
“I won’t act like there isn’t a certain type of power that comes with people admiring your face. But that’s not something that gets me off,” she added. “I like being Female Athlete of the Year. I like getting 4.0s for a straight year. I like knowing that I write my own songs. I like knowing that I create my own treatments. I like knowing that I donated $150,000 to Black Lives Matter.”
Her major-label debut under Warner Records will include singles “Tap In,” which was the first song to spend two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Triller U.S. chart; “Back to the Streets” featuring Jhené Aiko, which hit No. 1 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart; and “Best Friend” featuring Doja Cat. With two No. 1 songs off her album that hasn’t been released yet, Saweetie has grown more “comfortable” in her own skin and more confident in her rap skill, something she hopes other little Black and Brown girls will feel.
“Last year was the year that I finally became comfortable in my own skin. I kind of figured out what my purpose was,” Saweetie said. “I think it’s important to show little Black and Brown girls that they can be successful in whatever they want to do. If I can do it, you can do it too.”
See the photos from the shoot below.