Source: George Pimentel/Getty Images; Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Record / Getty
Although rapper Saweetie is related to actress Gabrielle Union, she says she didn’t want her help trying to break into the industry.
During a chat with Desus & Mero on their nightly Showtime series, the “Tap In” lyricist opened up about having a famous cousin, as well as a grandfather. Her grandad is Willie Harper, who played for the San Francisco 49ers. When asked what role they played in helping her get her foot in the door, the 26-year-old said none.
“They were all kind of upset at me, because they heard ‘My Type’ and was like, we didn’t know you was doing music. What you doin’ over there?” she said.
“But I have so much pride. I believe in being self-made and trying to figure things out on my own,” she added. “I appreciated that they reached out and was like, ‘We see what you’re doing. Our friends keep talking about you. We see you and if you need our help, please let us know.’ So I appreciate the support, but for me, I’ve always been self-motivated. So instead of asking for help, I just wanted to see if I could do it on my own.”
While Saweetie didn’t want help from her relatives in the beginning, once the star started getting attention for her music, news of her famous family started to trickle out. Gabrielle Union was the one who shared that they were second cousins. They’ve since hung out on multiple occasions, with Saweetie performing at Union’s birthday, hanging out with she and Dwyane Wade’s family, and double dating with her boyfriend, Migos rapper Quavo, alongside the Wades.
“Her father and I are 1st cousins,” Union said when a Twitter follower asked if they were related. “Her grandma is my aunt Joanne Glass who I based Eva from ‘Deliver Us From Eva’ on. #FunFact #DozensOfCousins”
And even more interesting, Saweetie shared that she had a connection to another big rapper as well — MC Hammer.
“Our family grew up with the Burrell’s [MC Hammer’s family]. My cousin’s dad is MC Hammer,” she told Billboard in 2018. “We all grew up together and it’s interesting to see how we turned out.”
It’s impressive that with all of the connections she has, Saweetie preferred to just do the work. She wanted to see if she could make it on her own, and she most definitely has.
