In order to be an icon, you need to be bold. How do I define boldness? Stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Saweetie
I had to work a lot. I was doing YouTube videos, but I wasn't getting a lot of love. How do I make a living off rapping when no one knows me? I got kind of discouraged. But hard work shuts people up.
I grew up listening to a lot of 2Pac and a lot of East Coast, West Coast rap; Bad Boy, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Biggie, 2Pac. Super hip-hop, super listening to that raw era of music.
I like it to look natural, to be smooth, dewy glowy. I like my eyebrows to look nice and I love lip gloss. That's essential to the Saweetie look.
It's cool to go into the simplicity of fashion, but I'm a very colorful person.
High maintenance means a lot of care. My relationships are high maintenance, my body is high maintenance, and my soul is high maintenance. I really care about my friends and my family; I eat good; I pray a lot. So it's like, I really care about my relationships with my family, my friends, my body and my soul.
My dream school was USC. So I was like, alright, I'm going to apply to USC, and If I don't get in - I'm dropping out of school, and I'm pursuing music. So I applied, and I got in. I was like alright, I'm at the number one communications school in the country, and that was my major.
My cousin's dad is MC Hammer, and another one of my cousins is Zaytoven. We all grew up together and it's interesting to see how we turned out.
After I graduated, I didn't have the resources to go to the studio, which is why I then went to social media.
You have to be unapologetically yourself. Once I was able to be proud of myself, it came across in my music really clearly.
I feel like your partner should be supportive. The relationship should be healthy; it should be fun. For all my girls looking for their type, make sure it's healthy and make sure that whoever it is, is making you a better you.
I was working three jobs and going to school full time. I was really unhappy and I told myself, You are not this girl. This sounds corny but I would tell myself, You are an Icy Girl. I'm a confident person, but that was the first time I experienced insecurity and low self-esteem.
It's crazy because 'Icy Girl' came when I was in a dark place, but I made it to motivate myself. It was kind of like my anthem for lifting up my spirits.
I'm super drawn to the high-end brands because they're made with such care and great materials. I really love Chanel, it's my favorite.
I'm the only person who stands in my way, whether I finish a song or if I'm, you know, struggling. So, I see myself as my own competitor.
I would describe my music as very honest. I just rap about myself, and not in a narcissistic way. I feel like I have a story to tell.
My grandma told me that to be wealthy you need at least seven streams of income, so that's my goal. I have a big family. I want to take care of everybody.
With social media, the gatekeepers are our followers. It has opened so many doors for me not only musically, but fashion-wise as well.
A lot of women reach out to me and tell me my music has given them the courage and confidence to break up with not just any boyfriend, but an unhealthy relationship.
I'm normally getting glammed for my events and when I can give my skin a break, I do.
I'm not really into trends. I do like high fashion. I love my Chanel and my Louis, but I love my Forever 21 too.
Well, most of my sessions have been with Hit-Boy and London, so I haven't had the opportunity to really vibe a lot in person with the other producers. But they're super open to experimenting and taking direction really well and they have good energy.
I feel like an EP is for practice and an album is the game.
Y'all should be happy for me. It's funny, compared to my peers, my catalog isn't even that big, but I'm still getting a lot of notoriety because my songs do really well. I'm working hard and minding my own business and trying to do something I'm super passionate about.
I founded my label last November called Icy, and once my foundation is laid, I'd love to go back and help other artists and give them the opportunity that I wasn't given at a younger age.
When you're a college student interested in music, you hear all these rappers talking about dropping out. For me, when I heard someone like J. Cole rapping about school and staying in school...it inspired me to keep going.
That's what's most annoying - when people in this industry act like they don't know me. And they say it in a way where you can just feel that it's shade.
My schedule is very busy, but when I get time to sit and think about all the great things that have happened to me, it's just mind-blowing.
I know a beat is good for me when I can just start rapping. It's usually hard for me to do that.
I think because I went to school and because I'm a student, I'm so open and I'm a sponge, and I just wanna learn everything to make sure everything is perfect.
I get extensions, but when they start to get spotty, I go buy wispy lashes and cut them up. I put them where the gaps are when I don't have time to get a fill.
I used to only like writing with pen and paper, but because I travel so much, I started to lose the paper.
I have my Icy brand, so one day when I do have the time I'll create my own fashion line.
I make music for people to relate to and to connect with me. I want to tap into different emotions.
If I want to listen to myself as much as I want to listen to Drake or Beyonce, I feel like that's a good sign.
I'm really good at football.
I was already writing poetry, so I transitioned from writing poetry a cappella to writing over beats, and it was way more exciting to me that way.
Growing up with a house full of women and seeing them look good no matter what they put on every morning just inspired me to look good myself.
Fashion has always been important to me. I think style is important and what I love about my style is it's all based on my mood.
I wish I could be more carefree. I grew up fast.
I feel like music is, you know, made to inspire, to heal, and to cope with. So, I hope that when my fans, or even just people who stumble across my music, I hope they get some type of feeling from it.
I'm a huge fan of hot Cheetos. I used to eat them for breakfast.
What I really love about the Bay area sound is that it's very unique and that's something I want to strive for, as an artist. It's easy to get caught up in what's trending, but Bay area rap stays true to the local sound.
People had boxed me in as a 'pretty girl with followers that's rapping,' but I think my project and the work speaks for itself.
I just love seeing my audience live, and I also love to see my peers perform because it inspires me to be a better performer as well.
I went from being a hustler, working different jobs to renting rooms off Craigslist, and I just wasn't happy.
It used to take me a really long time, and I used to not be able to write in the studio because I felt there was a lot of pressure to be perfect. The more I'm collaborating with other artists, the more I realize being in the studio is about catching a vibe.
I like working with people who are passionate about what I'm doing. I'm super passionate about music, so I want to make sure my colleagues and people on my team are the same, as well. I'm a very hands-on artist, so I don't give my work to my team.
Although I had the label of being the 'pretty girl rapper with a lot of followers,' I just broke the rules.
The experiences I go through... everything you hear in my lyrics is real. Good or bad, I take it all in and put it all on the mic.
