Filipino American rapper Saweetie, known by her Filipino fans as "Ate Icy," made the April cover of Cosmopolitan for her exclusive interview where she talks about her career, bullying, PTSD and more.
Saweetie, aka Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, is the best counter to the stereotype of Asian women being meek and subservient.
As the title to the Cosmo article suggests, "Saweetie Isn't Here to Impress You. She's Here to F***king Dominate!" the artist, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, is no shrinking violet.
The article introduces Saweetie to a readership that might not have heard of her despite being named "Favorite New Artist" for the Peoples' Choice Awards.
But as the interview in Cosmopolitan says:
"Her songs have hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify. She earned a 2020 People’s Choice Awards nomination for Favorite New Artist; she’s had a guest spot on the Freeform show Grown-ish. And then there’s her proudest moment, making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. It was a huge deal for Saweetie, who earned a business communications degree from the University of Southern California—with a 3.6 GPA, it should be noted—and who considers herself a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur. 'I screamed,' she says about when she found out she’d made the list. 'It just let me know that I’m on my way to where I wanted to be.' ”
The Forbes listing was important to her because of earlier interview. In the magazine, she talks about a 2018 interview where the host insinuated that because of her stunning appearance, she could get by with her basic freestyle (rapping). Saweetie says she suffered from PTSD from that incident and other incidents she endured because of the premise that she was getting by on her looks.
Because of that accusation of "pretty privilege," she worked hard to improve her art, taking vocal lessons, focusing on the studio work and launching a nonprofit, Icy Baby Foundation, to help single mothers.
If you're late to join the Saweetie bandwagon, welcome.
Saweetie is interviewed by Kim Lee ("Bling Empire") over lunch at a Filipino restaurant.
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