The pitbull-ification of Saweetie’s music career is not surprising to witness after one of her biggest pop-leaning singles “Best Friend” received a grammy nom last year and with each new release we move further away from the Icy Grl from the Bay that was truly in her own lane. Saweetie dropped her two latest singles “Shot O’Clock” and the YG, Tyga assisted “Birthday” at the end of July and the viral potential is very apparent as Saweetie pushes for her next Billboard hit. “Birthday” plays like “Best Friend’s” younger Gen Z sister with the familiar Dr. Luke production and mainstream rapper co-sign from two artists that know how to stay on the charts.

Now if you hate FUN I know you’re already condemning Saweetie for her latest singles but I’m more confused than disappointed. We know Saweetie can spit some solid one liner’s like her bold feature on Mozzy’s “In My Face” and give us the more hood side of Saweetie that most of us enjoy. Without a full length project it’s hard to tell what direction she genuinely wants to approach in her music. I really fucked with her collaboration with H.E.R. on Closer and still believe that single deserved a lot more attention than it got. The raw energy she had on “Don’t Say Nothin” also had a lot of potential but her brand has undoubtedly become bigger than the music.

I could easily see a couple of dance challenges being crafted from “Shot O’ Clock” and Saweetie is already generating some discussion for her Indian themed music video for the Spanish infused bop “Birthday” which is great for brand (or problematic?) for Saweetie the brand but I’m interested to know where Saweetie the artist wants to go with her music. I’m all for a catchy Billboard bop but when I think about her taking a year off to develop her artistry and dig deeper into what she wanted to put into the world which led to The Single Life EP, there’s a more personal side to the stunning beauty that we still haven’t fully witnessed yet.