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Hip-Hop has not been an easy road for Amethyst Amelia Kelly, better known as Iggy Azalea. What started off as a dream signing to T.I.’s Grand Hustle label and a spot as the first female on “XXL” magazine’s Freshman cover in 2012 wound up as a war of words with fellow rookie Azalea Banks, her boss in and out of jail, and multiple setbacks.

Although she managed to release a well-received EP and two mixtapes, “Ignorant Art” and “TrapGold” which were produced entirely Diplo, a real debut was looking less and less likely as the days went on and attentions began to shift. But now on the verge of her full length release on Def Jam,”The New Classic,” the Australian native sat down with TheUrbanDaily.com to talk old beefs, new female artists and whether or not public perception runs her reality.

 

TUD: You’re debuting an album at a time when there aren’t a lot of females out on this level. What’s the pressure like for you? What was your approach for making this album?

Iggy Azalea: I definitely don’t think about gender or the fact that there aren’t a lot of women when I’m making music. What I think about most is making sure that I let people see who I am, I guess that’s the hardest thing.  It’s so easy to do things that are more personal, but it’s really hard to incorporate yourself in them and still be fun. It seems like any time I want to talk about myself I automatically go to making something so moody and sad (laughs). It’s like how can I be me and still be fun and not make that too generalized because I want people to understand who I am? That was the biggest challenge for me. I think I did a good job at it. And that’s kind of the only pressure that I really have. It’s that I never want to have an album where people will review it and say, “I don’t know who she is, and she sounds like everyone else. I don’t know her story and it didn’t let me… she didn’t let me in.” So that’s my pressure. Trying to make sure I have that balance between being generalized into something everyone can identify with but also still having just enough of my personality that people can see who I am. 

You’re a 5’10, Australian blonde who models and dates an NBA player. It’s going to be hard for most to think that they have a lot to identify with.

I mean, I think it doesn’t really matter what your job is. Everybody has the same sh*t in their lives. You have a crappy day at work? I have a crappy day at work. You’re excited about something in your life…a birthday or your friend having a baby? I’m excited too. You broke up with your boyfriend? You’re sad? Same with me. Everybody –I think–has the same cost… fears of failure or happiness, of success or family problems, or going out and wanting to party or feeling good that you’ve reached a goal.  I think we generally all do them, it’s just that [how] we’re doing might be different. (Laughs). A breakup might be a little more embarrassing for me than you (Laughs) it’s the same thing.

You said before that you had to avoid making moody sounding music, but in your interviews you’re always so bubbly and upbeat and you don’t come across as a moody person…

Well I am a Gemini so I do have a mean, annoying, lonely, cry side. (Laughs) I try to avoid it. When I was growing up I was pretty moody and broody and you can get depressed or sad about stuff. Music was always my escape, the thing I could look to and have this escapism of music or of a great video. It was a thing that uplifted me and I always want to be that for people.  I’m not always that way of course. There are times I’m having a shit day and then in the interview I’m more upbeat. But I think it’s important for me. That’s the thing I always want to be for my fans. I want to be that girl that makes someone living in a small town, having a crappy time and they look to music as an escape and I want to be that thing that makes them kinda forget or feel good for a couple of minutes. So I don’t want to have things that are too slow-paced. I don’t want you to be wallowing in your sorrows when you’re listening to something that I’ve made. I would rather it would be something that’s for you to kind of escape to. So that’s why I try to keep it like that, although… yeah, sometimes you’d be surprised.

Iggy Azalea and Friends
@2x tud logo 2016 launch
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So who is Iggy’s favorite female MC? Click to find out!

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