Saweetie draws on her roots to make rap that's more personal and intentional

This is the first in a series of features from All Things Considered on first-time Grammy nominees, ahead of the April 3 awards. Profiles on Arooj Aftab, Jimmie Allen, and Barlow & Bear are next.

The saying goes that you have your whole life to make your first album, but Saweetie would like to know where everyone else is finding the time.

The 28-year-old rapper is nominated for two awards at this year's Grammys: Best New Artist, and Best Rap Song for her Doja Cat collaboration "Best Friend." And much like last year's winner in both of those categories, hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion, it's all before releasing her debut album, the persistently-delayed Pretty B**** Music, now scheduled to drop this summer.

At this tone-setting moment in the scant few months before her debut, Saweetie is going back to basics to rekindle her creative spirit.

Sitting down at the Pendry hotel in West