Saweetie The “Icy Grl”

Saweetie is an American rapper. After the release of her debut single “Icy Grl” in 2017, she was signed to her then-manager Max Gousse’s record label Artistry Worldwide, a subsidiary of Warner Records.

Saweetie released her debut extended play, High Maintenance, in 2018. Her second EP, Icy, was released in March 2019 and spawned the top 40 single “My Type”. Her debut album, Pretty Bitch Music, is scheduled to be released in 2022 and was preceded by the singles “Tap In” and “Best Friend” (featuring Doja Cat), both of which reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2021, she received two nominations for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards including one for Best New Artist.

Saweetie began posting short raps on her Instagram account in 2012. One video featured her rapping over the beat from American rapper Khia’s “My Neck, My Back (Lick It)”, 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”.

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.
— Saweetie for XXL in October 2017.

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, Icy, on March 29, 2019. Its first single, “My Type”, written by Saweetie and produced by London on da Track, samples “Freek-a-Leek” by Petey Pablo. Debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 81, It was Saweetie’s first song to enter the 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”.

2020–Present: Pretty Bitch Music

Saweetie released the lead single, “Tap In”, from her upcoming debut album, Pretty Bitch Music, on June 20, 2020. The single peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first top-20 single and her first song to enter the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 38. In September 2020, the single reached number one on Mediabase’s Urban Radio Chart as well as the Billboard x Triller US and Global charts. The track was Saweetie’s second single to reach Billboard’s Hot 100. In August 2020, Saweetie released a remix of the single, “Tap In Remix”, that featured rappers Post Malone, DaBaby and Jack Harlow. This was followed by the promotional single “Pretty Bitch Freestyle” on July 2, 2020.

On July 31, 2020, Saweetie appeared alongside American rapper Tay Money on the song “Bussin 2.0”, with a music video premiering the same day. On August 6, 2020, she was featured on Ava Max’s song, “Kings & Queens, Pt. 2”, alongside Lauv. On October 23, 2020, she released “Back to the Streets”, featuring Jhené Aiko, which serves as the second single from Pretty Bitch Music. The album’s third single, “Best Friend”, featuring Doja Cat, was released on January 7, 2021.

In 2020, Saweetie was added to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Music list and Variety’s Hitmakers Impact list. In March 2020, she embarked on her first beauty collaboration by becoming the face of the KISS Colors edge fixer glue in the Edge Fixer Glued x Saweetie collection. In October 2020, she launched her own virtual educational content series, Icy University.

As of March 2021, Saweetie has also launched a jewelry line, a capsule clothing collection (partnering with retailer PrettyLittleThing), and a co-branded makeup collection with cosmetics retailer Morphe. Her other brand partnerships include her February 2021 Essenchills collection with Sinful Colors, and the Saweetie Meal at McDonald’s in August 2021. Saweetie also expanded her appearances by hosting Culture Con 2021 for creatives of color and making her television acting debut as the character Indigo in 3 episodes of Grown-ish.

In April 2021, Saweetie released the extended play Pretty Summer Playlist: Season 1. It was supported by the singles “Risky”, featuring Drakeo the Ruler, and “Talkin’ Bout” by Loui, featuring Saweetie. On April 30, 2021, Saweetie collaborated with British girl group Little Mix to be featured on the remix version of its song “Confetti” with a video released the same day. The song peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart . On May 7, 2021, Saweetie released “Fast (Motion)” as the fourth single from Pretty Bitch Music.

In November 2021, Netflix released a sex-positive comedy special titled Sex: Unzipped in which Saweetie was the host. On November 19, she released the single “Icy Chain” which she performed on Saturday Night Live the following day. During her SNL debut, she also performed “Tap In” and “Best Friend”. In January 2022, Saweetie appeared as the star of MAC Cosmetics’ “Challenge Accepted” campaign alongside Cher.

On November 18, 2022, Saweetie released her fourth EP, The Single Life. The EP was preceded by the single “Don’t Say Nothin'”, which was released just hours ahead of the project’s release.