Saweetie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saweetie
Saweetie in 2021
Born	Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper (1993-07-02) July 2, 1993 (age 31) Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California (BA)
Occupation	Rapper singer songwriter
Years active	2016–present
Relatives	Willie Harper (grandfather) Josh Harper (uncle) MC Hammer (uncle) Gabrielle Union (cousin) Zaytoven (cousin)
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop
Labels	Warner Artistry Icy

Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper (born July 2, 1993), known professionally as Saweetie (/səˈwiːti/; also pronounced as simply "sweetie"), is an American rapper. Her 2017 debut single, "Icy Grl", received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and led her to sign with Warner Records in a joint venture with her then-manager, Max Gousse's record label, Artistry Worldwide.

Her debut extended play (EP), High Maintenance (2017) was met with lukewarm reception and failed to chart. Her second, Icy (2019) moderately entered the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "My Type", which marked her first entry—at number 21—on the Billboard Hot 100 and received quadruple platinum certification by the RIAA. Her 2020 single, "Tap In" and her 2021 single, "Best Friend" (featuring Doja Cat), both peaked within the chart's top 20, and are preceding the release of her forthcoming debut studio album, Pretty ... Music. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, the latter song earned a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Performance, while Harper herself was nominated for Best New Artist.

Early life and education

Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper was born on July 2, 1993, in Santa Clara, California, to Trinidad Valentin, a video vixen, who is of mixed Filipino and Chinese heritage, and Johnny Harper, who is African-American. She grew up in Hayward and later in Sacramento, attending Merrill F. West High School in Tracy and graduating from Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove. She began writing music at age 13. After high school, she attended San Diego State University, where she studied communication and business before transferring to the University of Southern California, where she completed her degree and received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in communication. After graduating, she began to focus on her rap career.

Career

2016–2018: High Maintenance

Saweetie began posting clips of her freestyles to her Instagram account in 2016. One video featured her rapping over the beat from fellow female rapper Khia's "My Neck, My Back", which eventually became "Icy Grl". The song was released on her SoundCloud in the summer of 2017 and brought her to the attention of Max Gousse, a well-known producer and A&R executive, who became her manager. The video went viral online, accruing 100 million views on YouTube as of June 2020.

That same month, Saweetie released a freestyle rap, "High Maintenance", accompanied by a short clip of herself rapping a verse to the song, all while chilling in her kitchen. It too went viral, on Instagram and Twitter. In October 2017, she released a video for her song "Focus", which samples DRAM's "Gilligan".

Saweetie performing in 2018

In January 2018, Saweetie was named Tidal's Artist of the Week and one of Pigeons & Planes's Best New Artists of the Month. During Super Bowl LII in February 2018, she was featured in an ad for Rihanna's cosmetic company, Fenty Beauty. That month, she signed to Warner Bros. Records (since May 2019 Warner Records) and Gousse's record label, Artistry Worldwide.

I do a lot of covers but this is the first time I'm actually doing original content. I leave the studio and I come home wanting to listen to really myself.

In February 2018, Saweetie launched her own record label, Icy Records.

Saweetie released her major label debut EP, High Maintenance, on March 16, 2018. It has nine tracks and was produced by CashMoneyAP, Nyrell and Saweetie's cousin, Zaytoven. The single "Icy Girl" was certified Gold in June 2018, for sales of 500,000 in the U.S. In September 2019, the single was certified RIAA multi-platinum and reached No. 1 on Billboard's rhythmic songs airplay chart.

2019–2020: Icy and other ventures

Saweetie released her second major label EP album, Icy, on March 29, 2019. Its first single, "My Type", written by Saweetie and produced by London on da Track, samples the 2004 song "Freek-a-Leek" by Petey Pablo. Debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 81 on the charts, It was Saweetie's first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100. "My Type" peaked at number 21, becoming Saweetie's first top-40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix of the song featuring Jhené Aiko and City Girls was released on August 23, 2019. "My Type" hit number 1 on the Rhythmic Radio charts in September 2019 and was later certified double platinum in the U.S.

In September 2019, Saweetie collaborated with PrettyLittleThing to launch a 59-piece clothing collection, PrettyLittleThing x Saweetie. She said the theme of the capsule was "a boujie rich girl enjoying the finer things in life. I want to show the boys and girls that if you hustle hard your work will pay off." It debuted during New York Fashion Week. Saweetie appeared on VH1's Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out on January 28, 2020, as a guest performer, performing "My Type".

Personal life

Saweetie is the first cousin once-removed of actress Gabrielle Union. Her grandfather Willie Harper, played football for the San Francisco 49ers and her uncle Josh Harper played football most notably for the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Saweetie began dating fellow rapper Quavo of the group Migos in September 2018. They were first seen together during the New York Fashion Week. On March 19, 2021, Saweetie confirmed via social media that she and Quavo were no longer together. She also mentioned on social media that Quavo had been unfaithful, writing "Presents don't band aid scars and the love isn't real when the intimacy is given to other women." In late March 2021, video footage surfaced showing the pair in a physical altercation that allegedly happened in 2020.

Discography

• Pretty ... Music (2025)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Saweetie para niños