Despite having a large list of well-known ancestors, Saweetie insists that her talent and hard work are what made her successful. The “Tap In” hitmaker stopped by Lil Yachty’s “A Safe Place” podcast on Wednesday night, July 10, and was questioned about her “interesting family tree.”
The West Coast rapper mentioned a few of her more well-known family ties, including the fact that her grandfather, Willie Harper, was a former San Francisco 49ers player, and that her cousin, Gabrielle Union, is her father’s cousin. She did, however, also provide specifics on a few rarely mentioned facts.
We became family by [the Lord] because, my uncles, we grew up in the same church as [Zaytoven] and his family. “My father served as one of MC Hammer’s bodyguards, and Hammer—well, Uncle Stan—joined my grandmother’s church,” Saweetie clarified. “Unfortunately, my grandfather had become a pastor by the time I was older, so I never got to watch him play football.”
“I feel like the church is what brought a lot of our families together,” the woman continued. The native of California then talked about how, before her hits like “ICY GRL” and “My Type” started to gain popularity, many of her relatives were unaware that she was a musician.
“They approached me and asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me that you were a musician?'” I am here if you need me. Hence, no, [they did not assist me]. The artist said, “I’ve always been really self-sufficient, but I know the help is there if I need it.”
A few weeks prior to Saweetie’s family-related remarks going public, someone on Twitter had called her a “nepo baby.” “It spits in the face of the child who grew up barely spending time with her parents because they [were] too busy hustlin’ trying to make ends meet,” she said, quickly dispelling the accusations.
Regarding music, Saweetie released “NANi” in May. Among her earlier hits from 2024 were “Richtivities” and “Khutti.”
