Feature

Iggy Azalea: Iggy popular

While hip-hop goddess Iggy Azalea sets her sights on world domination via a Jerry Hall (back in the day) looking package, mixed with her overtly sordid rap spitting hooks - and I mean that in the nicest possible way folks! I step up to pick this ripe cherry from the MC's with shit-loads of attitude tree!

My game has gotta be tight if I'm going to match this 22 year old sharp shooter, from Mullumbimby (bless you!) in Australia, pound for pound - well this what I thought, BUT…

ASIDE: Well you kinda get a preconceived idea of what an artist will be like BEFORE you meet them, with Iggy lyric's taking female profanity to a whole new level - e.g. typical tongue-in-cheek line on an Azalea tack… "Valley Girls giving blow jobs for Louis Vuittons…what they call that? Head over heals!" and you may be forgiven for thinking you'll be in for a verbally bumpy ride cometh your interview time - mix all of the above with Iggy's deft super ladette video image, which sees her near nakid [sic] most of the time, making inane innuendo, lap dancing and many other provocative in nature actions… I'm starting to sound like Mary Whitehouse now and obviously I had to watch these works of hip-hop art due to this very interview (and I'm sticking to that explanation! lol)…also you tend to go with what the press have said previously about the artist - well it's obviously true if WE wrote it! So where was I, oh yes...

BUT the person I met, and she may not like what I have to say due to the oath of bravado the rap fraternity generally seem to HAVE to pledge…was warm, sweet, charming and ever so slightly…and dare I say it…vulnerable! Right I've said it! (now wait for a Iggy Azalea kicking!) ...I know, I can't believe it either!?…and before you ask, I wasn't even smitten with her either!

First things first, the impending album…

IGGY: I've like finished it now…well I feel like it's finished but I'm still adding finishing touches…there's a few things, like interludes and little things like that are to do, that make it all add up…when it's done it's done. I know that's it's done, but it's not done right NOW." She adds, "It's funny because all my songs are usually so up-tempo, fun and not so introspective I guess - they are personal and I AM purposely making sure that people know more about ME and do more story telling and things like that…I need some more up-tempos…kinda mindless and about nothing you know, cos right now it's [the album] sort of a bit slower paced. I don't wanna loose my core fans and what they expect from me, so I better go make some more songs about nothing I guess! (laughs)." She continues to explain her album objectives…"Definitely more story telling, A LOT more story telling than usual, I feel like I rap and brag and talk shit…I'm a shit talker! (laughs) …it's more storytelling than I normally do. I did so much mix-tape stuff before but I didn't want to tell stories on those mix-tapes."

Iggy elaborates on on the start of her career, "I when I first started a lot of people think things I was doing was really brash. I do think it's harder it be vulnerable than it is to be brash about things and I was scared to be vulnerable, or to tell some stories, or do that sort of thing because you do get criticised no matter what you do. I didn't really feel confident enough to show that side of me and tell my stories and to be kinda judged on them. People wanna hear it and people need to hear it and I need to tell it for myself, so I did it on THIS album."

Iggy Azalea's latest track "Bounce" is out now through Virgin/EMI, new album set for the Autumn.

TO READ MORE FROM THIS INTERVIEW WITH IGGY AZALEA CHECK OUT OUR PRINT ISSUE - CLICK BELOW OR VISIT YOUR LOCAL MAG OUTLET (inc: WH SMITH AND JOHN MENZIES)
Words LEE TYLER