On Auntie Piggy's New Album, the Cleveland Rapper is Creating Her Own Narrative

IDGAF album cover Credit: Courtesy Photo

Auntie Piggy’s new EP IDGAF (I Don’t Got Any Flaws) is a short, but not too sweet, reminder that she is not one of them.

“I don’t rap about nothing that’s not true,” she said of the album, which was released in early May.

From the EP’s first cutthroat track “Come Outside,” where she gives a shoutout to the St. Clair neighborhood (where she grew up), to the fourth track “Bag Lady,” where she samples Erykah Badu’s 2000 hit, IDGAF is an ode to creating your own narrative, and defining who you are instead of allowing others to define you for you.

“I just want people to learn to love their selves and not give a fuck about what nobody gotta say about it,” Piggy told Scene. “I know who I am. A lot of people have the wrong impression about me, so they think I’m just this fucked up person because people just always see me react.”

Piggy’s first studio album, QUEEN OF THE TRENCHES — which features her hit single “Pressure” — was released two years ago, three months after she survived a shooting at an afterparty outside of Medusa Nightclub.

She was shot six times, twice in her stomach. One bullet was only half a centimeter away from a main artery. As she was rushed to the hospital, Piggy recalls feeling weak, but not feeling much pain. Once she realized she had been shot in her stomach, her mind headed to the worst.

“In my brain, [I was thinking] ‘I’m about to die,’’’ she recalled.

Clinging onto life, Piggy went into surgery, where she said she flatlined three times. She remained in the hospital for nearly 30 days.

She wouldn’t let the trauma lead her down a path of defeat, however.

Instead, Piggy leaned on her resilience. The experience gave her a better understanding of her purpose as not only an artist, but a role model.

“I feel like I’m here to help my people in some type of way,” she said. “I just feel like I’m here for a reason.”

Living in a world where aesthetics, likes and engagement are prioritized over authenticity and self-expression, Piggy’s priority is to remain authentic without the need to glamorize her trauma to remain relevant.

“It’s traumatizing, but it’s also people who can relate to it. But I just don’t want that to continue to be my story.”

Piggy plans to continue to grow as an artist and focus on creating soulful music that has a positive impact.

“I live my life through my music,” she said. “I think how I grew up influenced my music in a good way because [my music] is doing good, but I don’t want to keep talking about it. I ain’t gon’ say I had a bad life; I’ve had a great life, [but] I’ve experienced bad things.”