Saweetie

“We all want to be identified as someone cool, and I have struggled with repping where I'm from and my heritage before. It's part of growing pains. But when people see me being proud of what I am - and they are what I am too - it makes them proud. That's why I try to represent my Asian and my black side.”

“I'm really good at football.”

“People had boxed me in as a 'pretty girl with followers that's rapping,' but I think my project and the work speaks for itself.”

“I feel like an EP is for practice and an album is the game.”

“I don't want to be super serious but I want to have fun with my platform. I want to touch people, I want to be relatable and let girls know that you can go to college and still pursue what you want after that.”

“I grew up listening to a lot of 2Pac and a lot of East Coast, West Coast rap; Bad Boy, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Biggie, 2Pac. Super hip-hop, super listening to that raw era of music.”

“I stopped listening to a lot of music because I wanted to become more comfortable with what I naturally sound like.”

“It's cool to go into the simplicity of fashion, but I'm a very colorful person.”

“I get extensions, but when they start to get spotty, I go buy wispy lashes and cut them up. I put them where the gaps are when I don't have time to get a fill.”

“In the beginning, I took on every opportunity because I was so determined to get my name and music out there. You can get your sleep, but honestly your brain needs a break, too, and so many people forget that.”

“Although I had the label of being the 'pretty girl rapper with a lot of followers,' I just broke the rules.”

“I feel like it's social media that's opened that door. We're able to accumulate and generate our own fan base. Once we do that and put our own work in, labels take notice that we have our own following.”

“Me wanting to be an artist never really faded away. I knew that no matter what else I tried to pursue, my passion was always that.”

“I know where I wanna end up. I'm ready to go, and I'm ready to learn. I'm ready to build, and I'm ready to establish my longevity.”

“Growing up with a house full of women and seeing them look good no matter what they put on every morning just inspired me to look good myself.”

“I enjoy the life I have now, but I also enjoy doing regular stuff. I can't pull up to the club and stay outside no more. I can't be at anybody's table. A picture or video can go viral, and it can be misinterpreted.”

“I encountered producers who wanted to hang out after we worked, and when I refused, they wouldn't let me come back and work again... I would've have way more opportunities if I had succumbed. But it never felt right. I always felt like I was going to be successful, and I didn't want to compromise my morals.”

“I always wanted to bring something new to the table, and make clothes for women where they feel beautiful.”

“After I graduated, I didn't have the resources to go to the studio, which is why I then went to social media.”

“I grew up all around the Bay, but I spent most of my time in Hayward and I loved it. It was a really big apartment community, there was a whole bunch of kids.”