SWEET Dreams

American rapper Saweetie dishes on her rise to superstardom and excelling in life

- JORDAN RIEFE

With Instagram followers numbering 5.6 million and counting, plus another 1.2 million followers on You-Tube, there’s no denying Saweetie has an audience. But even with last year’s single, “My Type” setting records on Billboard’s Top 100, the rising rapper is after something more. “As a new artist coming from being an influencer, a lot of people didn’t respect me,” she tells us. Rhyming, rapping and as racy as she likes, Saweetie’s smart enough to know that you can’t expect respect from others unless you respect yourself. It’s all in her new release, Pretty B*tch Music.

“I want to change the meaning of pretty ’cause there’s this model on social media of how a woman looks,” she explains. “I grew up in a house of all shapes and sizes of women. Pretty means different things to different cultures, different groups, different backgrounds and different ages.”

That covers “pretty,” but what about “b*tch”? “Bitch means Boss, Independent, Tough, Creative and Hyphy,” she spells it out in an acronym. “This is going to be a great moment for women. My music is empowering, inspiring, but it’s also fun.”