Saweetie “finally became comfortable in [her] own skin” in 2020.
The 27-year-old rapper has admitted she felt as though she needed to “dim [her] light” for many years when she first started her music career, but has now learned to embrace who she is and has come to understand her “purpose”.
She said: “Last year was the year that I finally became comfortable in my own skin. I kind of figured out what my purpose was. I think it’s important to show little Black and brown girls that they can be successful in whatever they want to do. If I can do it, you can do it too.
“I won’t act like there isn’t a certain type of power that comes with people admiring your face. But that’s not something that gets me off. I like being Female Athlete of the Year. I like getting 4.0s for a straight year. I like knowing that I write my own songs. I like knowing that I create my own treatments. I like knowing that I donated $150,000 to Black Lives Matter.
“It’s my way of taking back all those years where I feel I had to dim my light.”
Saweetie also recalled a time in her career when she was bullied by a radio host for a freestyle, which she says left her with PTSD.
She explained: “It was a really dark point in my life. I went from being so loved so quickly because of ‘Icy Grl’ to, on my first promo run, well, you saw the interview. The script flipped really quick, like night and day. I was like, ‘Wait…’.
“I had PTSD from that.”
But the ‘Best Friend’ hitmaker is grateful for her career beginnings because it has taught her to “appreciate the rewards” that come with her success.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan magazine, she said: “Because the mistakes, the struggle, the grind – it allows me to appreciate the rewards that come now because I know what it feels like to sleep in motels, to drive and do promo, to be stressed out.”
