We spoke to Iggy Azalea as she was putting the finishing touches on her debut album, 'The New Classic'.
Speaking fresh from the announcement of hitting the 1 World Music Festival, Azalea is on the cusp of putting the finishing touches on The New Classic. “It’s a few days away from completion as I speak. I’m nervous, it’s my first album. A happy nervous ball of anticipation,” she regales without giving away too much in the way of details for the record, tentatively slated for a September release.
As is par for the course in today’s rap modus operandi, Azalea’s oft-delayed debut album has been preceded by a prolific output of mixtape and EP releases. This creative resolve is intensified at the final stages of the album’s production. “I’m writing four or five days a week at the moment, but that’s because I’m recording,” she assesses. “I think of concepts and write them into my phone. Writing takes a clear mind so often it’s the world I have to turn off.”
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The trajectory of Iggy Azalea is as tremendous as it gets, rocketing to such great heights in what amounts to little more than a two-year span. Hitting her stride at such a velocity, does Azalea feel in control the course set to the stratosphere? “No. I can aim and shoot for the stars but it’s up to the world at the end of the day. To control something that broad is impossible, really,” she muses with humility.
Belying her youth (having just turned 23 years of age), Azalea has attained a sense of resoluteness, projecting erudite assessments on the cultural implications of her art while rising above the industry follies of beefs and gossip in her retained Australian accent. “I fight for it daily,” she states on her ability to retain a sense of self within the machinations of the music industry.
It’s a matter of days until this year’s MTV Music Awards, for which Azalea is nominated in the Artist To Watch category for the film clip to Work. The ceremony is as definitive a bastion of pop culture as any. “I don’t consider myself [a pop star] yet, but I guess it’s a person who influences the masses through music. That’s what a pop star is to me.”
Throughout her online presence, Azalea still occasionally projects an affinity for her homeland. However, home for the Aussie-bred rapper is now very much LA. So what does Australia mean to Iggy Azalea at this stage in her life? “I’m not exactly sure, but it’s always close to my heart,” she beams. Ostensibly, you can imagine Azalea as an outsider in the realm of US mainstream rap – “Well, it depends who I’m standing next to,” she retorts with a laugh.
As well as her musical pursuits, Azalea also enjoys a successful modelling career. As such, style and aestheticism permeate all aspects of her craft. “Art is all encompassing. It’s every medium. Style is as important as music,” she proclaims. “All are equal because all influence and emote things within us.”
The release of The New Classic is set to be a tangible amalgamation of Azalea’s career to date. As for what hopes and dreams lie beyond the album’s release, Azalea is philosophical. “Happiness,” she states. “I hope I can be happy because at times it seems harder to maintain that than money or success.”
