The year 2015 was a challenging one for rapper Iggy Azalea. Although the Australian-born artist found commercial success with hit singles “Fancy” and “Problem,” Azalea encountered controversy after controversy mostly involving her being a white female rapper and dismissing the originators of her artform. Now, in a recent interview with Elle Canada, the rapper addresses all that she endured last year, as well as what her upcoming sophomore album, Digital Distortion, is going to sound like, and learning to listen to criticism.
The interview also delves into the accusations that Azalea faced, with the artist saying that she understood why people in the hip-hop community might find her problematic. “But many people think I still live in that bubble and that I don’t understand that the United States is set up in a way that doesn’t benefit minorities. I’ve lived here for 10 years now, and I don’t want it to be that way, either. I’m marrying a black man, and my children will be half black — of course I care about these things.” It’s a candid read that hopefully reflects the content of Azalea’s forthcoming album. Below are some other noteworthy moments from the interview.
On changing certain events that happened in 2015: “Umm, yeah…of course. If I could, I would Men in Black memory-erase 2015, I totally would—that would be amazing! Oh, God, there are so many things. I think the Azealia Banks thing is what really started it all. We don’t like each other on a personal level, and that has gone on for many years — before the Black Lives Matter incident happened. So, when I dismissed her, people started to think that I dismissed the whole movement, but I wasn’t trying to dismiss Black Lives Matter — I was trying to dismiss her because it’s our personal sh*t. I don’t think the subject matter of her tweet was invalid; I just think it was emotionally charged and driven by something else, and the whole thing got so misconstrued. I just wish I had acknowledged the issue head-on because it made people think I don’t care about what’s going on socially and what’s happening in America, and I do care. Even though I still hate Azealia Banks, I wish I had said it in a way that didn’t make people think I was oblivious to the movement. And I wish I hadn’t gotten into a fight with Papa John’s!”
On her new album: “I wouldn’t say it’s an angry album. It’s still uptempo and fun, but it’s a little more grown-up and moody. I didn’t want people’s commentary to take me away from the style of music that I make… There are some ‘F*ck yous’ and ‘F*ck yeahs,’ but I want people to hear it and feel good.”
On how she hopes to be perceived in 2016: “I feel like I got villainized so badly last year, to the point where I wasn’t even a person anymore. I just became this thing that everyone laughed at and would write awful things about—I think people forgot I was a person. People don’t have to like me, but I would appreciate it if they would still consider the fact that I’m a human being. You think Nick likes to hear that his fiancée doesn’t care about Black Lives Matter? Trust me, it was not fun last year in this house. No one wants to be told that they should kill themselves and that they’re like Hitler a hundred times a day; it’s not nice. At that point, it goes beyond criticism, and, trust me, I can handle criticism; if I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be here with a second album, still standing. I think after what I went through, most people would quit, and I definitely considered it, but I really love rap music and I’m not going to stop making it.”
Check out the rest of the lengthy interview at Elle Canada.
