Throughout the course of Saweetie‘s career, fans have gotten used to her different hairdos, but the display of her buzz cut late last year caught many by surprise. In a recent interview with Power 106, the emcee confirmed that she did indeed chop off her hair and explained that the move was mainly inspired by some much-needed introspection.

“Meditation, as crazy as it sounds, because I just found so much clarity within myself,” Saweetie responded when asked for the inspiration for her cut. “I wanted to start over, and I did research about hair and hair holds a lot of energy. And I really wanted to just feel new and fresh with this new music. I won’t say new me. But elevated me. I really just wanted to start over again.”

Asked to describe the “elevated” version of herself, Saweetie explained that “she meditates, she’s centered, she has clarity, she knows what she wants, [and] she puts her foot down.”

The “Closer” emcee‘s mentality has changed since her earlier days in the music industry. When reflecting on her old self, Saweetie admitted she was eager to take on great opportunities regardless of the toll it would take on her body. “Before I discovered meditation, everything was, ‘Yes yes yes, I’ll do it,'” she recalled. “No matter how bad my body felt, if the opportunity was great, I just said yes and I kept running down my mental, my spiritual, my physical. But how am I gonna continue to work if I’m depleted?”

Thanks to meditation, Saweetie has mastered the art of her protecting her energy. “I think that I have established boundaries in the mental space and in business as well, and I think that everyone should do that,” she concluded.

Look below to see Saweetie discuss her hair, her new single and more.