Saweetie stopped by the Hard Rock Hotel in New York for an Audacy Check In with 97.4 The Block’s Jen to chat all about how she always knew she wanted to rap, the inspiration behind “Richtivites” and “NANi,” the deeper meaning behind cutting off all of her hair, and more.

Starting off the conversation talking about her reasons for opting for a more intimate birthday party this year, her Filipino and Chinese culture on her mother’s side, and being a first generation kid, as well as her college experience, Saweetie spoke about the transition of going from school kid to bona fide rapper.

“So I always wanted to be a rapper,” Saweetie expressed. “I actually have a clip, I found my old MacBook and I have tons of videos of me talking to myself and I would just, I would pretend I was a rapper. I would pretend like I was interviewed by someone like you, no one was on the other side though. And this was happening as early as my senior year in high school girl, lots of videos.”

Noting “that was one of the main reasons why I did want to stay at home because I was like, maybe I should just work on a mixtape, but then I eventually went to college,” which she previously explained was due to a plethora of inspiring and convincing reasons, one of which was J.Cole getting his degree at St. Johns.

Referring to another one of her sit down interviews, Jen praised Saweetie for how open she is about her journey to finding success. Noting, “a lot of these artists, they only show the good side when they make it… But you are so transparent with where you were and where you are now. Specifically what stuck out to me was that ‘broke’ video,” adding, “I don't mean to say it like that, but that's what it was.”

Going on to say, she “mentioned it because, you know, a lot of people are going through rough times right now and they want to hear words of encouragement, things are going to be OK.” Jen then asked Saweetie to reflect on that time in her life, and more than just not having money, but about the mental and psychological affects that time had on her life.

“I would say what was difficult for me was having to figure out how I was going to pay my bills each month because after I pay my bills, my account would go down to whatever the amount would go down to, that was stressful.” Also finding a glass half full outlook on that time, Saweetie, noted, “my body was really in shape because all I would eat was like ground turkey rice, peanut butter sandwiches… because that's all I could afford.”

Next, Saweetie dove into the topic of music, discussing her singles “Richtivities” and “NANi,” and how as Jen put it, she makes tracks that “very women empowerment centric.”

Sharing the thought process that goes into putting together a record, Saweetie expressed, “It depends on what kind of record it is. For ‘Richtivities,’ that was very topic based and it actually came from an experience where I was on a yacht with me and my homegirls. We were drinking champagne, we were riding jet skis, we were ordering food to the boat, the food was being delivered to us. It was like a crazy experience, and I was like, this is a rich-tivity, a rich activity, and that's what inspired that song.”

“So when it comes to a topic based song that's like flexin’, poppin’ s***, the undertone and the underlying message is if you work hard, this is what you reap… you reap the rewards of working hard. So I think it's a song to either celebrate your wins or it's a song to listen to when you're trying to reach certain goals.”

As for “NANi,” Saweetie revealed, “it wasn't ‘NANi’ at first, it was a different word, it was body. I wanted to change it because I wanted a different word and we were trying to figure out the word.” After some deliberation she settled on Nana or Nani. “You know how Foxy Brown would talk about that Nana, and I love the way she was able to apply different meanings to it. So I was like, let's take that and apply it to this song, but let's use Nani and not Nana. So Nani is kind of like a derivative from Foxy Brown's brand, so shout out to Foxy Brown.”

Saweetie also talked about how her mom’s love of music of all genre types has led to her love of experimenting with music. “I don't really put out the records where I'm experimenting with different genres, however I have, and I would say my love for other types of music comes from my mom.” Going on to share that her favorite studio session was with Dijit Dosanjh, when they worked together on “Khutti.”

Saweetie also touched on her decision to cut her hair, but not before having a little fun first. “I had decided I was going to cut my hair when I dyed my hair blonde… I didn't want to cut a whole bunch of healthy hair. so I dyed my hair blonde, auburn red.” Delving into the deeper meaning behind the chop, Saweetie revealed, “during that time I had discovered meditation. and through meditation there was a lot of self-discovery that I had learned about myself. And when I was doing my research on certain things… an article explained how hair holds on to memory and energy of the past. So it was like, I feel like I'm becoming a new woman, I want a fresh start, top of next year I'm going to cut off all my hair, I’m about to drop my album, It’s going to be my look for the roll out. I feel like it just made sense for every part of my life.”

And while she admittedly felt “naked” and "exposed,” she also felt “extremely liberated.” Revealing, “I think that it actually jumpstarted the work, the self-work that was to come for the next two years. I feel like I'm finally coming out of that journey of self-discovery and me shaving my head kind of like really pushed me to do that.”

“It definitely… cleansed my energy. But it also, like I thought it was going to solve all my problems. I thought I was going to start fresh.” But instead, “it really made me have to reevaluate almost every aspect and part of my life.”

For all that and more, check out Saweetie’s entire Check In above.

Words by Maia Kedem Interview by Jen

Saweetie stopped by the Hard Rock Hotel in New York for an Audacy Check In with 97.4 The Block’s Jen to chat all about how she always knew she wanted to rap, the inspiration behind “Richtivites” and “NANi,” the deeper meaning behind cutting off all of her hair, and more.
Starting off the conversation talking about her reasons for opting for a more intimate birthday party this year, her Filipino and Chinese culture on her mother’s side, and being a first generation kid, as well as her college experience, Saweetie spoke about the transition of going from school kid to bona fide rapper.
“So I always wanted to be a rapper,” Saweetie expressed. “I actually have a clip, I found my old MacBook and I have tons of videos of me talking to myself and I would just, I would pretend I was a rapper. I would pretend like I was interviewed by someone like you, no one was on the other side though. And this was happening as early as my senior year in high school girl, lots of videos.”
Noting “that was one of the main reasons why I did want to stay at home because I was like, maybe I should just work on a mixtape, but then I eventually went to college,” which she previously explained was due to a plethora of inspiring and convincing reasons, one of which was J.Cole getting his degree at St. Johns.
Referring to another one of her sit down interviews, Jen praised Saweetie for how open she is about her journey to finding success. Noting, “a lot of these artists, they only show the good side when they make it… But you are so transparent with where you were and where you are now. Specifically what stuck out to me was that ‘broke’ video,” adding, “I don't mean to say it like that, but that's what it was.”
Going on to say, she “mentioned it because, you know, a lot of people are going through rough times right now and they want to hear words of encouragement, things are going to be OK.” Jen then asked Saweetie to reflect on that time in her life, and more than just not having money, but about the mental and psychological affects that time had on her life.
“I would say what was difficult for me was having to figure out how I was going to pay my bills each month because after I pay my bills, my account would go down to whatever the amount would go down to, that was stressful.” Also finding a glass half full outlook on that time, Saweetie, noted, “my body was really in shape because all I would eat was like ground turkey rice, peanut butter sandwiches… because that's all I could afford.”
Next, Saweetie dove into the topic of music, discussing her singles “Richtivities” and “NANi,” and how as Jen put it, she makes tracks that “very women empowerment centric.”
Sharing the thought process that goes into putting together a record, Saweetie expressed, “It depends on what kind of record it is. For ‘Richtivities,’ that was very topic based and it actually came from an experience where I was on a yacht with me and my homegirls. We were drinking champagne, we were riding jet skis, we were ordering food to the boat, the food was being delivered to us. It was like a crazy experience, and I was like, this is a rich-tivity, a rich activity, and that's what inspired that song.”
“So when it comes to a topic based song that's like flexin’, poppin’ s***, the undertone and the underlying message is if you work hard, this is what you reap… you reap the rewards of working hard. So I think it's a song to either celebrate your wins or it's a song to listen to when you're trying to reach certain goals.”
As for “NANi,” Saweetie revealed, “it wasn't ‘NANi’ at first, it was a different word, it was body. I wanted to change it because I wanted a different word and we were trying to figure out the word.” After some deliberation she settled on Nana or Nani. “You know how Foxy Brown would talk about that Nana, and I love the way she was able to apply different meanings to it. So I was like, let's take that and apply it to this song, but let's use Nani and not Nana. So Nani is kind of like a derivative from Foxy Brown's brand, so shout out to Foxy Brown.”
Saweetie also talked about how her mom’s love of music of all genre types has led to her love of experimenting with music. “I don't really put out the records where I'm experimenting with different genres, however I have, and I would say my love for other types of music comes from my mom.” Going on to share that her favorite studio session was with Dijit Dosanjh, when they worked together on “Khutti.”
Saweetie also touched on her decision to cut her hair, but not before having a little fun first. “I had decided I was going to cut my hair when I dyed my hair blonde… I didn't want to cut a whole bunch of healthy hair. so I dyed my hair blonde, auburn red.” Delving into the deeper meaning behind the chop, Saweetie revealed, “during that time I had discovered meditation. and through meditation there was a lot of self-discovery that I had learned about myself. And when I was doing my research on certain things… an article explained how hair holds on to memory and energy of the past. So it was like, I feel like I'm becoming a new woman, I want a fresh start, top of next year I'm going to cut off all my hair, I’m about to drop my album, It’s going to be my look for the roll out. I feel like it just made sense for every part of my life.”
And while she admittedly felt “naked” and "exposed,” she also felt “extremely liberated.” Revealing, “I think that it actually jumpstarted the work, the self-work that was to come for the next two years. I feel like I'm finally coming out of that journey of self-discovery and me shaving my head kind of like really pushed me to do that.”
“It definitely… cleansed my energy. But it also, like I thought it was going to solve all my problems. I thought I was going to start fresh.” But instead, “it really made me have to reevaluate almost every aspect and part of my life.”
For all that and more, check out Saweetie’s entire Check In above.
Words by Maia Kedem Interview by Jen

Listen as our favorite artists Check In for candid conversations about music and more.

Listen as our favorite artists Check In for candid conversations about music and more.

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