Saweetie is an American singer and rapper who became popular in 2017 with the song ICY GRL. Now the girl is collaborating with the record label Warner Bros. Records in partnership with Artistry Worldwide. The artist has a multi-million audience of followers on Instagram. Each of her tracks on streaming services collects at least 5 million plays.
Early life as an artist
Saweetie is the pseudonym of a rap artist, her name is Diamonte Kiava Valentine Harper. She was born on July 2, 1993 in Santa Clara, California. The girl's family is multinational. Her mother is of Filipino and Chinese descent, while her father is African American. The performer also has twin sisters - Milan and Maya.
“Recently I posted pictures of my mom and people didn’t know that I was half Filipina and Chinese. My subscribers were really shocked by this, ”said the artist in an interview with XXL.
The artist's cousin is Zaytoven. The guy is a popular beatmaker in South America. He helped the artist produce several tracks from her EP. In addition, Saweetie also has a celebrity cousin, Gabrielle Union, who used to be an actress and model.
The artist spent most of her life in San Francisco. She attended Monterey Trail High School there. After graduation, Diamonte entered San Diego State University with a degree in Business and Communications. The girl studied for a year and decided to change the university.
Saweetie never set herself the goal of graduating from college with a degree. However, she promised herself that she would do it if she could transfer to the school of her dreams - the University of Southern California. According to one of the programs, she managed to get into the Annenberg School of Communications. Despite the fact that she had to combine her studies with four jobs and a musical career, the singer graduated from college with an average score of 3,6.
Before becoming an internet celebrity, Saweetie worked as a waitress at Marshall's sports bar. The aspiring rapper also tried to develop her own brand, Money Makin' Mamis. He was selling shirts and hats.
Saweetie's personal life
Now Diamonte is dating the famous rapper Quavo from the hip-hop group Migos. Rumors about their relationship appeared when she starred in the video for the song Workin Me. After several public appearances, the couple confirmed that they have been together since mid-2018. There are rumors about a possible engagement of the musicians, but they do not give official confirmation.
Prior to this, Saweetie dated the son of American rapper P Diddy, Justin Combs. They started dating in the summer of 2016, when the girl was still studying in California. According to rumors, the reason for the breakup was Justin's betrayal with his girlfriend Aaliyah Petty.
From the age of 18 to 22, the performer dated American actor and model Keith Powers. The young man is known for his roles as Ronnie Deveaux (New Edition) and Tyree (Straight Outta Compton).
Saweetie's Creative Path
Diamonte began writing music when she was 14 years old. As a child, she loved poetry. Therefore, from time to time she performed at open-mic evenings. The girl liked stage activities, and soon she began to write her own songs. In middle school Saweetie performed with her friends at talent shows. Although she was very nervous, she always loved performing.
The performer's favorite musical directions are alternative, rock, hip-hop and R&B. She admits to being heavily influenced by Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Nicki Minaj and Trina. After graduating from university, Diamonte decided to devote herself to rap and was not mistaken.
Nicki Minaj had a significant influence on the aspiring artist. About her Saweetie says the following: “When Nicky appeared on the big stage, she had great punchlines and lyrics about many different things. She reminded me of herself."
Singer today
The artist began sharing her work on Instagram back in 2016. However, she gained immense popularity thanks to the track ICY GRL (2017). Over the summer, she posted it to the SoundCloud platform. In the fall, the performer released a video for it. The video clip immediately gained 3 million views in the first three weeks.
When writing the track, Diamonte did not use her beat. She took it from the song My Neck, My Back (Lick It), released in 2002. Initially, Saweetie simply shared a short video on Instagram of her freestyle rapping over a beat by American singer Khia. Subscribers really liked the performance, and they asked to record a full-fledged work.
After that, the singer released the song High Maintenance, which quickly became popular on Twitter and Instagram. After signing with Warner Bros, Saweetie released her debut 9-track EP High Maintenance. It includes the hit ICY GRL. The mini-album was produced by her cousin Zaytoven.
In March 2019, Diamonte released her second EP, Icy, which included the track My Type. A few days later, it peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 10, becoming Saweetie's first song to top the chart. A little later, My Type took the 21st position, becoming the performer's debut hit in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.
What does Saweetie do besides music?
Saweetie appeared in an ad for Rihanna's Fenty Beauty cosmetics in February 2018. In the video, the rapper does her makeup with Fenty Beauty makeup and brushes while her friend talks on Face Time. The commercial was shown before the show, at the Super Bowl (Season 10).
In 2020, Saweetie decided to launch her own line of cosmetics. Therefore, she began to cooperate with the popular American company Morphe. Already in the spring, the artist began developing eyeshadow palettes and a series of lip glosses. Inspired by music festivals, Diamonte decided to create a collection with bright and unique shades.
