Originally slated for a June 2021 release, Saweetie’s debut album has been a long time coming. “There’s a misconception about how quickly an album can be done,” the 30-year-old rapper tells Elite Daily. More than two years later, fans are still waiting for it — something Saweetie is very much aware of. “It’s taken me a long, long time, but it’s not as easy as some people make it seem,” she adds.
Delays aside, the California native has a specific vision for the record, and she isn’t willing to settle for less. “I want people to be able to live with [the album] and see the space I was in when I created this work of art,” she says ahead of her performance for Tinder’s Swipe Off challenge at Arizona State University on Nov. 11.
Though she already has plenty of songs ready to go — “many stories” she’s eager to tell — she wants to establish a cohesive theme, and she also needs her label’s blessing for the release.
Fortunately, Saweetie’s fans aren’t going anywhere; they’re just eagerly awaiting what she does next. In the meantime, the rapper has plenty to keep her busy. With more than 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, millions of TikToks featuring her songs, and two Grammy nominations (so far), Saweetie is an undeniable success, even if she is currently album-less.
Here, Saweetie opens up about creating viral music, reworking an album, and making sure the record has the right “taste.”
Elite Daily: Ahead of the concert, can you share any pre-show rituals you have?
Saweetie: I like to be by myself for an hour. It’s my ritual to get in the zone.
ED: Your songs “My Type” and “Tap In” have both gone viral on TikTok. When you see that you’re trending, what’s your initial reaction?
S: I get really excited, and I actually check out as many videos as I can. My reaction doesn’t necessarily change if the song is taking off on TikTok versus Twitter. On TikTok, you’ll find more challenges and dances, and then Twitter is more discourse about the song.
ED: When creating new music, do you ever feel pressure to make something that will go viral?
S: No, when I upload music, it’s simply because I’m enjoying listening to that snippet. And if it goes viral, then great. If not, I know that my fans will enjoy it in their own time.
I don’t know if I want a linear story. I want it to tell many stories.
ED: You’ve been teasing your debut album since 2020. In 2022, you announced you were reworking it and had changed the name from Pretty B*tch Music to something else. What has that process been like?
S: I honestly have an ample amount of songs. It’s all about figuring out what kind of story I want to tell.
ED: How do you go about picking that story?
S: I don’t know if I want a linear story. I want it to tell many stories — maybe it’s telling many stories of Saweetie’s life. I don’t want it to be an album just full of hits. Yes, I want it to have hits, but I want the songs to correlate with one another.
ED: In your experience, is there any correlation between teasing music at a concert and actually releasing the songs in full?
S: Performing music and releasing it both live in their own area. They don’t really have a connection to one another besides just hyping the fans up and getting them excited for new music that’ll hopefully drop soon.
ED: You wrote about taking your time with the record in an IG story, “This ain’t no microwave sh*t! It’s baking and it will definitely be worth the taste.” How would you describe that taste?
S: I want the taste to be how I felt when I was in high school or college, when an album would drop and all I wanted to do was listen to it on repeat.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.