The personal and artistic history of Iggy Azalea it’s a constant carousel that has taken her to the top of the music industry, but it includes the low blows that fame can have. The rapper is considered as one of the largest in historyhowever, for this he had to experience controversial situations such as migrating to USA being a minor and without the authorization of his parents, working scrubbing floors and even dealing with a media campaign against him after becoming the first great threat of the reign of Nicki Minaj.
Although his musical debut was in 2011 with the song Pu$$y -of the first viral melodies in the history of Youtubebefore the arrival of other social networks-, the whole world met her in 2014 with the premiere of Fancya rap/pop combination that made his nascent career an international phenomenon that captured the attention of pop star they had for years and breaking with the monopoly that Minaj had created, because no one else in the industry had tried to face it, much less overcome it.
Despite the great success, the endless labor obstacles on the part of its record companies, its representatives and the same media that were not willing to have a white woman in gendereven with the prior existence of Eminem who shared more than similar factors, turned one of the industry’s promises into an independent artist who, although she no longer has the international opportunities that a major record label can offer, is still a legend who is even now respected by the aforementioned queen of rapNicki Minaj.
“No money, no family, sixteen in the middle of Miami”
Although most artists are inspired by situations in their daily lives to write stories, in the case of rap it is more than necessary to be endorsed and consumed by others, since a rapper who does not write his own songs is not considered that way. work It was his official debut under a renowned record label, with lyrics one hundred percent focused on his early years and the sacrifices he had to make in order to be part of the industry.
On June 7, 1990 in Sydney, Australia, under the name of Amethyst Amelia Kelly, the rapper began her journey facing a recurring element in the history of several great artists: poverty. The economic limitations that her family had made her live her first years in a house made of mud bricks built by her parents and relatives, but her ambitions in life did not know any kind of borders. .
From the age of 14 he began to rap and show his distaste for taking classes that were not related to the artistic field:
“When I was a child and I was saving to come to the United States, I used to go there and clean the vacation homes and hotels. You can make a lot of money doing that because the tourism industry is profitable; there aren’t many jobs to choose from. When I started to really like rap music, nobody else liked that. It wasn’t right, where I come from. They all liked rock, indie and dance music. So I didn’t want to be close to them, “he expressed in 2011 for the American magazine Complex.
In this way he sought the American dream: migrated to Miami at the age of 16USA, without the permission of their parents. The singer on more than one occasion has assured that it was the crucial decision in her life, because from that moment the best and worst were yet to come, everything being reflected in the song and her official video.
“From trapping in Miami, nominations at the Grammies”
your stay for The Capital of Latin America in the United States was not pleasant at all, because he had to join any type of work that would allow you to support your basic needs and at the same time begin the career for which he left his native Australia. So Iggy Azalea spent some time scrubbing floors in hotels and restaurantsand even for a short time working even in places of “transit” where all the time she was exposed to being physically attacked for being a minor.
Her innate talent helped her not to get “stuck in Miami”, as she began her career releasing videos and songs independently on Youtube being one of the first to have viral hits coming from the internet -a very common practice now with networks like TikTok-. That’s how it reached the ears of the label Interscope Records and the rapper YOU who from that moment became her “godfather”, giving her the opportunity to collaborate with stars like Steve Aoki, although years later he would betray her after she achieved much more fame and prestige than him.
“I’m so fancy, you already know…”: the song that made her tie with The Beatles
In this way, international success came to his life, because after three considerably successful attempts – Work, Bounce Y Change Your Life-, in February 2014, Azalea released the fourth single from The New Classichis award-winning debut album, Fancya collaboration with the singer Charlie XCX which quickly became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, as well as reaching the Top 10 in Australia and the United Kingdom on the charts. Billboard, The Rolling Stones and more.
The success was so overwhelming that in 2017, Billboard declared to Fancy like the biggest hit by a female rapper in the historyfollowed by Nicki Minaj with superbass and then Missy Elliott con Work Ittwo legends with greater experience than her.
Currently, it is estimated that he has sold over 20 million copies -most of them pure and not streaming-, being 10 only in the US, because it is important to remember that with said single tied The Beatles who had the number 1 Y 2 at the same time in the Hot 100 for several decades; this feat also allowed Ariana Grande have their first world single, because the collaboration problem I was in second place being blocked by the same rapper.
every queen has a princess
Madonna for a long time established herself as The Queen of pop, having years later a worthy companion who is Britney Spears. This idea at first did not seem to please the recently honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard -the highest award mtv-, because during 2013 to 2016 Azalea snatched all title, award, achievement and reflectors from Minaj. It is very important to emphasize that they never had any type of discussion, nor did they speak ill of each other, only the media tension confronted them in the media and fan groups.
In this way, Nicki’s respect was earned by Iggy sharing titles Queen Y rap princess, respectively. A feat that allowed various rappers to rise to world fame since 2016, such as Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, making the female presence within the male-dominated genre since its creation a door to freely deal with related stories with the freedom of the body, censored sexuality, LGBT+ agenda items and others that were not addressed by men.
Criticism for being a woman and “white”
The story of eminence is known worldwide, as there is even an Oscar-winning film about him –8 Mile-. The rapper earned the respect of his colleagues, becoming one of the greatest exponents, despite the great rejection within the community for being “white”, because within the very origin and history of rap it is more than clear that the lyrical discourse began as a way to protest the abuses committed due to racial issues.
Years later Iggy Azalea arrived and the formula was repeated: the Afro-descendant singers accused the also producer of cultural appropriation and not having the right to be in the music scene because of the “privileges” with which he was born and he could never separate, even if that was his decision.
An ironic debate that after more than a decade has a different panorama, since it has been recognized that It was a gender reason rather than a racial issuebecause he, being a man, managed to overcome all accusations against him to practice the profession, while all doors were closed to her, to the point of being left without a label, for being a woman, white and wanting to rap.
Despite the run-down career she maintains, her two albums as an independent rapper and everything she achieved in just 3 years under her old label, places her as the second favorite of the genre; a person who has shown a talent for writing, producing and rapping struggling to break through in rap.
