Saweetie may be a cousin to actress Gabrielle Union, however, the last thing the “Tap In” rapper wanted during her rise in the entertainment industry was a handout. During a recent appearance with Desus and Mero on their nightly Showtime series the California native spoke candidly about having famous relatives — the rapper is also related to former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Willie Harper.
In an interview posted on Aug. 23, when asked what role her famous family members played in helping her get into the industry, the “My Type” rapper 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?” the 26-year-old explained.
She added, “But I have so much pride. I believe in being self-made and trying to figure things out on my own,” she said. “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.”
Despite her opposition to taking help from others, Saweetie revealed that once she started to gain traction news of her famous connections leaked to the public. But it was Union who initially confirmed the news that the two women were second cousins.
When a fan on twitter asked the “Bring It On” star if she was related to the female MC, she replied, “Her father and I are 1st cousins.” Union added, “Her grandma is my aunt Joanne Glass who I based Eva from ‘Deliver Us From Eva’ on. #FunFact #DozensOfCousins.”
On Aug. 2, the actress shared photos from a family kickback on her Instagram page. Union and Saweetie were joined by their mates Dwyane Wade and rapper Quavo, respectively, as well as two of Wade’s children, 18-year-old Zaire, and 13-year-old Zaya, for an evening of “Family Time,” as Union warmheartedly captioned the post.
However, the famous connections don’t just end there. In 2018, Saweetie told Billboard that she was also related to MC Hammer. “Our family grew up with the Burrells [MC Hammer’s family]. My cousin’s dad is MC Hammer,” the rapper revealed. She added, “We all grew up together, and it’s interesting to see how we turned out.”
