New eras in hip-hop are ushered in by fresh faces with something to prove. One of those fresh faces is Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
Though Iggy gained fame thanks to YouTube, she still had a hard time securing a deal. Her mentor T.I. signed her to his imprint of Interscope Records, Grand Hustle, but the deal fell through and Iggy was eventually signed to Island Def Jam which produced her debut album, “The New Classic.”
Iggy’s rise to the top is perfectly portrayed as the newcomer lets people into her world with her raw but honest lyrics on “Walk the Line.” The 23-year-old doesn’t waste any time letting people know she’s here to stay with the line “Know where I wanna be but I’m far from home/I’m just tryna make it my own.”
The Aussie artist continues with this theme of talking about her rise to fame including her risky move to the states on the track “Don’t Need Y’All.” The song is carried by an up-tempo pop-like beat, but is reinforced by Iggy’s declaration of not needing fake friends in her life.
The emcee deviates from talk about haters and naysayers to bragging about all that she’s become on the track “100 featuring Watch the Duck.” Azalea[STJ1] takes things to the next level by referencing her high class, cash-only lifestyle. Next up, Iggy and her mentor T.I. brag about how they can change your life [STJ2] with their money on a track titled “Change Your Life.”
“Fancy” featuring Charli XCX and “Work” were both released as singles prior to the album’s release date. “Fancy” is raw and gritty as Azalea affirms her status on the electronic beat by repeating “Who Dat, Who Dat, I-G-G-Y.” On “Work,” the Aussie paints a picture for her listener about just how real her struggle is as a 16-year-old living in Miami on her own. Though the beat sounds perfect for the club, Iggy keeps it serious by thanking her mom for believing in her dream and telling the world she’s constantly working on her craft.
On “New Chick,” Iggy confirms her man’s ex is a thing of the past. From referring to the mystery girl as desperate to declaring how she now spends her man’s money, Iggy reaffirms she’s here to stay.
Switching things up, Iggy mixes things up with two Caribbean inspired songs, “Goddess” and “Lady Patra,” where she solicits dancehall veteran Movado to help her creatively tell her competition and suitors who she really is. Lastly, songs, “Black Widow,” which was penned by Katy Perry and features Rita Ora, and the song “Fuck Love,” discuss love gone bad.
Rounding out the album are bonus songs “Bounce,” “Just Askin” and “Rolex,” where she not-so-subtly refers to her failed relationship with ASAP Rocky with the line “I got you tatted, you took off before the ink dried on my hands/ I was down to give you the world, instead you gave me hell.” Ouch!! Anyway, “New Classic,” which was released on April 22, is just that: a new classic by a new artist who is already making her mark in hip-hop whether you like or not.
