She didn’t grow up on the streets and she doesn’t come from a broken home, but as Iggy Azalea prepares to drop her debut album, “The New Classic,” on Tuesday, the Australian already has a reputation for being one of the most resilient figures in the hip-hop world.
She started paying her dues back in 2006 when she was just 16 years old. Azalea (real name Amethyst Amelia Kelly) told her parents she was going on holiday to Miami but phoned home two weeks later to say she was staying for good and pursuing her dream of being a rapper. “There was definitely a lot of crying from my mum,” recalls Azalea, now 23, who created her stage name by borrowing the first name from her dog and “Azalea” from the street on which she grew up.
After using up her savings, Azalea settled for a while in Atlanta, where she sold imported hair from Thailand to get by. She moved out to LA in 2010 and self-released her debut mixtape, “Ignorant Art,” in 2011. Azalea’s sexually provocative lyrics (especially on the single “Pu$$y”) and southern-style rapping earned patronage from the likes of T.I. and Nas. She also attracted more personal attention from Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky, and the pair dated in 2012. But her career floundered when a deal with Interscope fell through later that year, and her planned debut was shelved.
Azalea says the biggest battle has been getting the male-dominated hip-hop world to take her seriously. “I think people have been hoping I would go away,” she says. “Sometimes in interviews, I get asked, ‘Are you a racist?’ because I’m a white female rapper.”
“The New Classic” (which will be released by hip-hop heavyweight Def Jam) sounds like both her ticket to the big time and her pathway to legitimacy. It still maintains a confrontational edge and documents her already fascinating life story, but a big part of Azalea’s appeal is that despite all the knocks, she still doesn’t take herself too seriously. The video for her current single “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, is a perfect example of Azalea’s sense of humor, as it features the duo recast as Cher Horowitz and Tai Frasier from “Clueless.” That, combined with the track’s killer chorus, has helped land Azalea her first Billboard hit.
Additionally, her peroxide blonde looks are lighting up the fashion world. She signed to Wilhelmina Models in 2012, fronting a prominent Levi’s campaign, while writeups in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar touting her as one of the style icons of 2014 led to her being a constant presence at New York Fashion Week. Dating LA Laker Nick Young hasn’t harmed her profile, either.
The music is fun, her style is impeccable and that feisty personality is coming to the forefront. Slowly but surely, the haters are coming around to Iggy Azalea. “Some people who were complete jerks to me are now being very nice,” she says. “I could be bitter, but I’m just glad they’re finally accepting me for who I am.”