Saweetie Has No Time For “Nepo Baby” Narratives

Since making her debut in 2017, Saweetie has achieved remarkable success. She has released several multi-platinum records, earned two Grammy nominations, starred in numerous brand campaigns, hosted various shows (including one on Netflix), and gone viral countless times. What she hasn’t done, however, is release an official album.

That will change, soon—hopefully this year—with the release of her long-teased debut, which was at one time called Pretty Bitch Music (a title she’s been hinting at since 2020). Saweetie has dedicated much of 2024 to new music, releasing a series of singles and freestyles alongside two standout tracks that are leading up to her debut: “NANi,” a breezy summer anthem she describes as having “main character energy,” and “My Best,” which dropped last night and features a harder edge beat, paying homage to her Bay Area roots. While the songs differ tonally, both share an aspirational message. “My Best,” in particular, showcases Saweetie at her finest, blending self-assurance, clever wordplay, and empowering affirmations.

“[‘My Best’] is about always doing your best no matter what the circumstances are,” Saweetie told Complex recently. “And I think that it's the first song where there's a chorus and it's a catchy chorus, but in the verses I'm delivering it as if it's one of my freestyle songs.”

If you’ve been following Saweetie, then you probably know that there was a stretch of time where she was more widely recognized for brand partnerships with McDonald’s or Hidden Valley Ranch than for her music. Saweetie, who aptly dubbed herself the “content queen,” became known for her many commercials. However, there seems to be a growing realization, from Saweetie herself, that the relentless amount of partnerships may have dimmed her light, especially when it came to her career as a rapper. In March, she discussed this with Allure, saying, “I just feel like nobody was caring about my music… To me, music is sacred.”

And so we now have a that’s maybe not actually a new era, but a new phase of her career, one where she’s putting out music constantly and where it will ultimately lead to that debut.

“I've seen some comments where to the public eye it looks like a rebrand, but for people who know me, they're like, you're finally showing more sides of you that people didn't know existed,” Saweetie said. “So I would say it is an era where I'm just maybe just showing more sides to who I've always been to.

Complex recently talked to Saweetie about her upcoming album, nepo baby allegations, why it helps rappers if they know how to freestyle and more. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

I feel like it’s been a good summer for you.
So far my summer has been really fun. I performed in cities like Atlanta, Chicago, L.A., and Miami. Every time I come to [a] city, me and my team do an outreach for influencers, musicians, and other people who are making an impact in their category or their industry. We invite them to this dinner called NANi NiGHTS. From what I've seen so far, it's been such a cool fusion when you bring people into the room who aren't allowed plus ones and it's a really fun environment to be in and it's nice to get to know one another. NANi NiGHTS is a celebration of life and we've been having some really good turnouts.

What's the vibe like?
I would say it's like conversations. At the beginning of each dinner I tell everyone to say their name, where they're from and their zodiac sign. And it's just so funny the response you get depending on what your Zodiac sign is.

You're a cancer and you are clearly deep into astrology. Does someone’s sign affect who you work with?
So when it comes to Zodiac signs in the workplace, I typically get along with everyone. So when someone tells me their sign, it doesn't really affect my flow with them. What I will say—there's other spaces in my life where there are certain signs I'll stay away from (laughs). But in the workplace, everybody's green to go. I get along with everybody in the workplace, so there's no red flags for me.

Who's your favorite creative cancer?
Missy Elliott. She was and still is very innovative and what I really appreciate about her art is she was way before her time, but was still appreciated in her time. And sometimes there's [only] one or the other. So I just think that it's dope that she was able to make such a huge impact in the music industry by just being authentic to herself.

Have you met her?
I talked to her on the phone before. I had a choreographer who knew her and we knew of each other and we spoke about each other. So my choreographer set up a phone call and we talked.

You've been in the game since 2017. How do you feel like rap or the industry has changed since your debut?
I feel like [hip-hop now] is really accessible and you see a lot of sub genres come out of rap. It's rapping, combined with a different sound. So I think that the subcultures that have been created over the past years have just been so cool. And it's nice to be in a time where people literally have no glass ceilings, no boundaries and no restrictions to the art that they're creating.

Is your debut album still going to be called Pretty Bitch Music?
I'm not sure if my album is still going to be called Pretty Bitch Music only for the simple matter of fact that I think that Pretty Bitch Music has evolved into a movement rather than a title. It's a working title at the moment.

So the title is what you want it to sound like, essentially?
Yeah. I feel like the sound of it is expensive. I think it's a product of higher living—not just luxury—but taking care of your body, your spirit, your soul. I always tell people that “pretty” is more than the face value aspect. It's your energy, your aura, and your confidence. So just taking that and creating the sound has been a journey.

I read somewhere that you were looking at Jay-Z albums for inspiration. What are your biggest takeaways from listening to Jay?
What I love is that you were able to get to know him. What I noticed in a lot of my songs, you get to know Outside Sweetie and [at] the Club Sweetie, and I couldn't have an album full of that. And what I love about his album is that you're able to get a deeper understanding of where he came from, what he went through, how he learned from it, what he's doing now, how he's moving compared to how it used to be moving. And I think that's what kept me engaged as a listener.

Sounds like what you're saying is that fans look at you for turnt up shit, but you want to go to a deeper level.
Well, my fan fans know that they get to know me through my freestyle videos and my songs, which is why those are my favorite songs compared to my songs that do well commercially. So it's all about finding that blend of the two. And I feel like I'm doing that on… “My Best,” essentially just highlighting when you're at the lowest, when you finally get to your best, the people who didn't respect you or didn't want to be involved with you when you were here don't deserve your best here. It's about always doing your best no matter what the circumstances are. And I think that it's the first song where there's a catchy chorus, but in the verses I'm delivering it as if it's one of my freestyle songs.

Why are your freestyle songs your favorite to do?
I feel like they're the most me, they're the most fun to write. And they’re what I started doing initially in the beginning when I first got signed, they would always tell me too many words in the song to make some verses more simple so that it can appeal to the masses more. And through that I felt like I kind of lost important aspects of what made me fall in love with rap in the first place.

Do you think it's important for a rapper to know how to freestyle?
Is it important for a rapper to know how to freestyle? No. But is it an advantage? Yes, because that's where rap originated from and the ones the freestylers who can actually freestyle. Well, it was a combination of cleverness, how witty they were, how much knowledge they had and how quickly they can turn around a topic depending on who their opponent was. So I think it's a skill that a lot of people may not work on as much as they used to, but if a rapper could freestyle it is definitely a weapon.

I saw you made some news responding to a tweet about you being a Nepo baby [ Editor's note: Saweetie's cousins with Gabrielle Union and Zaytoven. Her grandfather is Super Bowl-winning linebacker Willie Harper.] Do you think that's a phrase or stigma that's hurt you?
I think it's a phrase and a stigma that has tried to hurt me because anytime that I do something good or I achieve something, a narrative comes out to try to undermine my hard work. And I mean, if I was a nepo baby, I would've loved that. I would've loved having my college tuition taken care of. I would've loved not having to work four jobs. And I think that that narrative just cheapens a lot of things that I really have done to make me me. And I think that if you do have the resources, you should use them. And if I did have the resources, I would've used them.

Does that make you hesitant to work with the notable people you’re related to?
I mean for me it's just whatever. Maybe like five years ago I would've felt offended, but to me my mind frame has changed. And if a false narrative has to spin every time I do something successful, [it] lets me know that I'm doing something right. Because people will only try to stop greatness. They're not going to try to stop just things that are not competitive. So when it comes out I'm just like, “OK, I'm doing my job” and they are just doing theirs.

In some places, you’ve become the poster child for manifestation. Is that something that you are really into?
I believe in manifestation. I believe it's a product of praying, belief and faith. To be the poster child of it—I don't know if I consider myself that.

Well, I guess because you were rapping about having all these things on “Icy Girl” even when you were still struggling.
Well, “Icy Girl” is a rap full of manifestations that came true. So it's something that I've practiced since my childhood. I saw my mother do it. My mother is a big believer in writing affirmations, speaking about them, and she would even post some of her affirmations around the house. So I think because I saw my mother do it, it became a habit. I wasn't aware that I was manifesting. I was just copying what my mom was doing.

Is there any other narrative that you find irksome or annoying?
There's a Kat Williams clip that I posted. Whenever I see false narratives that have malicious intent attached to them, I just think of this clip. He's just like, “if you have four haters, lady, you need at least 20 By the summertime.” And it just brings me back to the time when I was in high school and I came home really mad one day and my dad being a dad asked me what was going on and I told him I'm tired of these rumors circulating. And he laughed and he pulled up this clip and it was the Kat Williams clip and he was just like, girl, you're doing your job. Get some more haters. And I think that in that moment, and it brought light to situations that then and now that probably would take a toll on my mental health, but because I've changed how I look at them, it doesn't really affect me as much. So when I do hear these false narratives, it's just kind of like a joke to me.

Do you look at this new time as a comeback era for you?
Is this era a comeback era? I don't know if I would title it a comeback era. I would say it's an era [where I’m] getting back to me. I've seen some comments where to the public eye it looks like a rebrand, but for people who know me, they're like, you're finally showing more sides of you that people didn't know existed. So I would say it is an era where I'm just maybe just showing more sides to who I've always been.