Saweetie Opens Up About Her Early Trials of Career Mistakes
Icy girl, Diamonte Quiava Valentin Harper (aka Saweetie) shares the rough patches she faced during her journey to stardom in an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine. When chasing your dreams, the sky’s the limit. Normally, bumpy roads ahead come with the territory. With that being said, triumphant victories don’t just happen overnight and it’s not very common that people share their failures as Saweetie has.
It’s quite clear the Bay area rapper has experienced her fair share of career obstacles. However, a real boss never allows hardships to knock them down, they push through them. Saweetie may not have fully recovered from some part of her experiences but she views them as a lesson.
The rapper told Cosmopolitan, “I’m really grateful for my start” she continued, “Because the mistakes, the struggle, the grind, it allows me to appreciate the rewards that come now because I know what it feels like to sleep in motels, to drive and do promo, to be stressed out.”
Despite her relation to celebrities such as Gabrielle Union (Cousin) and MC Hammer (Uncle), Saweetie emphasized that she did not come from money. “I know there’s a misconception because I’m related to them, but that wasn’t my mom and dad in my apartment in Section 8.” Her first hit single, “Icy Grl” was written when she had just $40 in her bank account with high hopes it would go viral.
The track did just that and rapidly gained millions of views pushing her further to stardom success where she ended up signing with Warner Records. The Baby Hair Princess made it icy clear that she had no silver spoon in her mouth and she got to where she is today by rolling with the punches and through her hard work and dedication.
This doesn’t mean she didn’t have to deal with some naysayers. In fact, the Icy Girl Princess received some rather harsh criticism from Hot 97’s radio host, Ebro Darden during her interview with Ebro, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenberg after performing a rap freestyle. The moment that took place back in February 2018 happens to be one of her most cringe-worthy moments. Saweetie stated, “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… I had PTSD from that.”
On a lighter note, Saweetie chooses to see the situation through a different lens and use it as a motivation tool, as well as a learning experience to continue to diligently work on improving her craft. The California native has already been progressing since the incident with her hits. “My Type”, “Tap In”, and her most recent, “Best Friend” featuring Doja Cat.
Regardless, Saweetie remains unstoppable, she mentioned to Cosmo, “Some of us have it naturally. And some of us don’t, like me,” she says, “And that’s okay because I know that as long as I work hard, I’ll become one of the best.”
Considering the awesome example she’s setting for black and brown girls and her unwavering progress, it’s safe to say she’s on her way up. If you would like to see the infamous Hot 97 interview, you can watch the clip below.
