Inspired by similarly forthright rappers Lil' Kim, Trina, and Khia, as well as R&B artist Teedra Moses, Diamonté Harper broke through in 2018 under the alias Saweetie. Harper grew up in and around the Bay Area, primarily in the city of Hayward. Though she aspired to be a rapper in early childhood, she excelled academically, earned a full-ride college scholarship, and obtained a degree after attending San Diego State and the University of Southern California. Harper's interest in music subsequently intensified once she got some attention for short performance clips uploaded to Instagram. One set of nonchalantly celebratory rhymes, delivered over the instrumental of Khia's 2002 hit "My Neck, My Back," developed into a track entitled "Icy Grl." Its official video, uploaded in October 2017, went viral, notching millions of views and by January of the following year, Saweetie had signed a major-label deal with Warner Bros. The centerpiece of her debut EP, High Maintenance, which appeared a few months later, "Icy Girl" was certified Gold in June 2018. "Up Now," a collaborative single with London on Da Track that featured G-Eazy and Rich the Kid followed later that year as did "Pissed," another non-album single. Saweetie's second EP, ICY, was released in March 2019. ~ Andy Kellman