Saweetie loves flexing her Filipino roots
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American singer-rapper Saweetie has been making plans to firm up her connection to the Philippines, the birthplace of her mom. For one, she’s looking to have a home in Manila.
The Grammy-nominated artist behind the hit songs Best Friend, My Type, Icy Girl, came to the country to headline the FIBA World Cup Draw at the Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Saweetie, who’s actually been to Manila, Boracay, Cebu and Palawan.
“I just arrived Thursday and we’re leaving Sunday for Palawan. My mom took me there 10 years ago. I’m really excited to see what has changed,” said Saweetie when asked at a presscon on Friday about what she intends to do during her Philippine visit.
“And then, I was telling my team that I wanted a condo in Manila. I don’t know how soon that will happen, but I just want to make sure I have a home here.”
She also expressed interest to connect and collaborate with local artists. “Absolutely, I was just talking to my team like where are the upcoming artists, I wanna meet them. Normally, when I go to a new city, I like to meet and greet the upcoming artists who are trying to pursue, you know, their own career path. Because from places like this, sometimes they don’t have a platform,” she said.
One of the first very Filipino things she did while in town was to enjoy the food. “The thing that I was looking forward to the most was the food. My favorite is sinigang with milkfish. Also pancit and adobo… I already got the Filipino breakfast. With the garlic rice. That’s very important,” she quipped.
“I always tell people that if I were to pick one food that I will eat for the rest of my life, it’s Filipino food.”
Saweetie, whose real name is Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, was born to a Filipino-Chinese mom, Trinidad Valentin of Tondo, and African-American father Johnny Harper.
And it’s no mere lip service whenever she says she’s proud to be Filipino. During the presscon, she surprised the press for her conscious use of po, saying that it was something her grandparents made sure was ingrained in her.
But she has also previously flexed her Filipino side through her fashion, music videos such as Closer, her collab with fellow Fil-Am artist HER, and going by our previous interview, her upcoming album will have a surprise for her Filipino fans.
Saweetie talked more about why it was important for her to be loud and proud of her Filipino heritage.
“The Filipino culture is in my DNA. It’s my roots. I’m proud of where I am from, who I am. And my mom and her brothers and sisters and my lolo and lola, they’re all immigrants so I was raised in a real, traditional Filipino household. And I’m proud of that. Because it actually made me the woman I am today,” she noted.
“I think it’s important that we represent that, especially in an industry where we don’t see that many Filipinos. I love showing a part of my heritage, especially my mom and her family, because they brought me to where I am today.”
She was also very grateful to have a mixed-race upbringing. “There’s a term called code-switching because I come from like two different families. So as a little girl, it was really frustrating but I think that as I get older and reflect, it’s taught me that, you know, no two groups of people are the same. But you have to respect the morals, the values and the cultures of it,” she said.
“And I think it was a big advantage for me because it didn’t limit how I viewed the world. So, I’m really grateful to have experienced cultures that are important to me and taught me how to be the woman that I am today.”
Meanwhile, as an artist constantly on the road, she said she’s experienced Filipino warmth and hospitality in various places.
“Well, one thing about being Filipino, if they find you’re Filipino, they will love you. So, I’m really proud to be Filipino. Everytime I travel to a city, there’s always like a Filipino tita or or nanay who cooks me pancit and brings it to my show, and be like I know you’re Filipino, we love you out here,” she shared.
Besides her music career, Saweetie is pursuing multiple projects. According to Forbes, the 29-year-old, who graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in communications, is “a dedicated philanthropist committed to empowering Black and Brown youth” via her Icy Baby Foundation that teaches financial literacy. She is also CEO of several businesses, from makeup line, clothing line to jewelry line.
“The way I juggle my creativity and building a business is to have a good team. You can’t do it alone. And I think that, you know, as Filipinos we’re really hard workers and we like to do everything ourselves. I got that from my mom,” she said.
“But I’ve learned that the bigger I grow, the more I need more hands helping me. So, for anyone who wants to grow your business, getting the right team who believe in your dreams is really important.”
Asked for some advice to Pinoy artists aspiring to follow in her footsteps, Saweetie said, “My advice for upcoming Filipino artists would be to embrace the culture. I feel like sometimes when people travel to America, they feel like they have to embrace American culture. But what makes us, you know, special is where we come from.
“So, I love that my mom taught me some of the core values she learned as a little girl and instilled them in me. I’m proud of that. And we should all be proud of where we came from because if it wasn’t for our home, then it wouldn’t be who we are today and that’s what makes us unique.”
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