Australian rapper Iggy Azalea is about to take over the U.S.
Calling someone a successful model isn’t usually seen as a put-down. But Iggy Azalea has a definite problem with it.
“I find it so weird that I’m called a model,” says the 23-year-old recording artist. “I’m signed to a modeling agency — but as an artist. It’s the same deal as Chris Brown and Fergie and so many others. But they’re described as artists and I’m called a model.”
Sound a tad defensive? Azalea has some cause to be. She wants to be taken seriously as a rapper — and in certain circles, she already is. She has earned major coverage in genre publications like XXL, as well as in Vogue, while developing a healthy cult following for her early mix tapes.
But with the Tuesday release of her major-label debut, “The New Classic,” she has to rope in a wider audience, despite being hampered by three hip-hop hurdles: She’s female. She’s white. And she’s Australian.
This, in a field still thought of by many as the realm of hyper-masculine American black males.
Moving here to start a career seemed like less of a risk than staying in Australia with no job and no diploma.
“Of the three, being Australian is the biggest roadblock,” Azalea asserts.
Lingering suspicions about race tend to fade, she says, with exposure to her skills. And Azalea can point to Nikki Minaj as a role model for recent female triumph in the genre. It also helps that she shares with Minaj a booty that inspires nearly as much ink, and photo shoots, as her rhymes.
Even so, Azalea admits to feeling a bit awed by her genre’s roots in this country. “America is the pinnacle,” she says.
That’s why she moved here seven years ago, at age 16, from a spit of a town, Mullumbimby, in New South Wales. She describes the town as a mix of farmers and alternative types, drawn to Chinese medicine and crystals. Azalea first fell in love with America when she visited L.A. at age 11 with her parents. “Seeing all these ridiculous characters in Hollywood, I was infatuated,” she says.
Iggy Azalia Iggy Azalea, 23, fell in love with the U.S. on her first visit, at age 11, and says "America is the pinnacle."
She was drawn to the music too — specifically U.S. hip-hop stars who could rap in double time, like Twista, Andre 3000 or Missy Elliott, who Azalea calls her sole female influence.
Azalea (born Amethyst Amelia Kelly) took her stage name from her childhood dog, Iggy, and the name of the street she grew up on. When she came to the U.S., she settled in Miami because she knew a family living there. Azalea says her parents didn’t mind her move since she had already dropped out of high school and lived on her own. “Moving here to start a career seemed like less of a risk than staying in Australia with no job and no diploma,” she says.
Azalea first turned heads three years ago when her homemade videos for “Pu$$y” and “Two Times” went *viral. In 2012, she became the first female, as well as the first non-American, to be included in XXL’s annual “10 Freshmen” cover story of promising young rappers.
In the time since, the budding star went through a protracted back-and-forth between potential label deals — one with T.I.’s Grand Hustle imprint, the other with Interscope. She finally landed at hip-hop’s most prestigious company, Def Jam, partly because she was first signed to a U.K. deal with the related label Mercury. Her head start in England earned two top 10 hits over there.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: Recording artist Iggy Azalea performs at the Friends 'N' Family 17th Annual Pre-GRAMMY Party at Park Plaza Hotel on January 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for FRIENDS 'N' FAMILY) Iggy Azalea performing at a pre-Grammy party at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: Recording artist Iggy Azalea performs at the Friends 'N' Family 17th Annual Pre-GRAMMY Party at Park Plaza Hotel on January 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for FRIENDS 'N' FAMILY)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 13: Rapper Iggy Azalea performs onstage at the 2014 mtvU Woodie Awards and Festival on March 13, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images for MTV)
Rapper Iggy Azalea, whose major-label debut, “The New Classic,” is out Tuesday, first visited the U.S. at age 11. “America is the pinnacle,” says the 23-year-old, but “so many fans of rap are not American.”
Enlarge
Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Friends 'N' Family
Meanwhile, America hasn’t produced a major female hip-hop star since Minaj, or, to a lesser degree, M.I.A. Such reigns come years after the peak period of distaff rap, back in the ’90s to early 2000s, when Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga, Eve and Trina all ruled.
Several recent women, besides Azalea, have tons of rap hype behind them, including Kreayshawn and Azealia Banks. But they’ve yet to blow up.
Azalea says she’s baffled by the lack of fem power in the genre, but she’s confident it can turn around. “Women are the biggest buyers of music,” Azalea says. “If you’re the kind of women other women want to be friends with, it should be fine. If you’re a woman other girls hate, it might be bad.”
She envisions an even brighter future due to globalization. “So many fans of rap are not American,” she says. “They need someone who can represent them. Sooner or later, they’ll find one.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...gy-azalea-u-s-article-1.1760303#ixzz2zX6ZZhfE
Iggy Azalea - Work (Explicit)
Calling someone a successful model isn’t usually seen as a put-down. But Iggy Azalea has a definite problem with it.
“I find it so weird that I’m called a model,” says the 23-year-old recording artist. “I’m signed to a modeling agency — but as an artist. It’s the same deal as Chris Brown and Fergie and so many others. But they’re described as artists and I’m called a model.”
Sound a tad defensive? Azalea has some cause to be. She wants to be taken seriously as a rapper — and in certain circles, she already is. She has earned major coverage in genre publications like XXL, as well as in Vogue, while developing a healthy cult following for her early mix tapes.
But with the Tuesday release of her major-label debut, “The New Classic,” she has to rope in a wider audience, despite being hampered by three hip-hop hurdles: She’s female. She’s white. And she’s Australian.
This, in a field still thought of by many as the realm of hyper-masculine American black males.
Moving here to start a career seemed like less of a risk than staying in Australia with no job and no diploma.
“Of the three, being Australian is the biggest roadblock,” Azalea asserts.
Lingering suspicions about race tend to fade, she says, with exposure to her skills. And Azalea can point to Nikki Minaj as a role model for recent female triumph in the genre. It also helps that she shares with Minaj a booty that inspires nearly as much ink, and photo shoots, as her rhymes.
Even so, Azalea admits to feeling a bit awed by her genre’s roots in this country. “America is the pinnacle,” she says.
That’s why she moved here seven years ago, at age 16, from a spit of a town, Mullumbimby, in New South Wales. She describes the town as a mix of farmers and alternative types, drawn to Chinese medicine and crystals. Azalea first fell in love with America when she visited L.A. at age 11 with her parents. “Seeing all these ridiculous characters in Hollywood, I was infatuated,” she says.
Iggy Azalia Iggy Azalea, 23, fell in love with the U.S. on her first visit, at age 11, and says "America is the pinnacle."
She was drawn to the music too — specifically U.S. hip-hop stars who could rap in double time, like Twista, Andre 3000 or Missy Elliott, who Azalea calls her sole female influence.
Azalea (born Amethyst Amelia Kelly) took her stage name from her childhood dog, Iggy, and the name of the street she grew up on. When she came to the U.S., she settled in Miami because she knew a family living there. Azalea says her parents didn’t mind her move since she had already dropped out of high school and lived on her own. “Moving here to start a career seemed like less of a risk than staying in Australia with no job and no diploma,” she says.
Azalea first turned heads three years ago when her homemade videos for “Pu$$y” and “Two Times” went *viral. In 2012, she became the first female, as well as the first non-American, to be included in XXL’s annual “10 Freshmen” cover story of promising young rappers.
In the time since, the budding star went through a protracted back-and-forth between potential label deals — one with T.I.’s Grand Hustle imprint, the other with Interscope. She finally landed at hip-hop’s most prestigious company, Def Jam, partly because she was first signed to a U.K. deal with the related label Mercury. Her head start in England earned two top 10 hits over there.
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: Recording artist Iggy Azalea performs at the Friends 'N' Family 17th Annual Pre-GRAMMY Party at Park Plaza Hotel on January 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for FRIENDS 'N' FAMILY) Iggy Azalea performing at a pre-Grammy party at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: Recording artist Iggy Azalea performs at the Friends 'N' Family 17th Annual Pre-GRAMMY Party at Park Plaza Hotel on January 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for FRIENDS 'N' FAMILY)
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 13: Rapper Iggy Azalea performs onstage at the 2014 mtvU Woodie Awards and Festival on March 13, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images for MTV)
Rapper Iggy Azalea, whose major-label debut, “The New Classic,” is out Tuesday, first visited the U.S. at age 11. “America is the pinnacle,” says the 23-year-old, but “so many fans of rap are not American.”
Enlarge
Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Friends 'N' Family
Meanwhile, America hasn’t produced a major female hip-hop star since Minaj, or, to a lesser degree, M.I.A. Such reigns come years after the peak period of distaff rap, back in the ’90s to early 2000s, when Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga, Eve and Trina all ruled.
Several recent women, besides Azalea, have tons of rap hype behind them, including Kreayshawn and Azealia Banks. But they’ve yet to blow up.
Azalea says she’s baffled by the lack of fem power in the genre, but she’s confident it can turn around. “Women are the biggest buyers of music,” Azalea says. “If you’re the kind of women other women want to be friends with, it should be fine. If you’re a woman other girls hate, it might be bad.”
She envisions an even brighter future due to globalization. “So many fans of rap are not American,” she says. “They need someone who can represent them. Sooner or later, they’ll find one.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...gy-azalea-u-s-article-1.1760303#ixzz2zX6ZZhfE
Iggy Azalea - Work (Explicit)
