Fancy facts about pop’s new Iggy
Aussie rapper inspires tributes and tirades
Move over Mr. Pop, there’s another Iggy in town.
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea is conquering the world with her electrified hip-hop tunes — including Billboard’s current U.S. chart-topper, Fancy, featuring Charli XCX. (Six weeks at No. 1, the sassy single marks the longest reign for a female MC.)
A za lea’s ca reer blossomed the unfancy way. After moving to the U.S. as a teen, she slogged through years of touring, recording, and album delays — finally releasing her major-label debut, The New Classic, in April. The album’s fifth single, Black Widow, with British vocalist Rita Ora, is now scurrying its way to the top.
Here are a few (not-so?) fun facts about Azalea, 24, and her tunes:
1. CSNY
Before Germany demolished Brazil in Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal, the Internet was abuzz with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s folk rendition of Fancy. (Young, of course, was played by TV talk show host Jimmy Fallon, but the other three guys were the real deal.) Even Azalea was impressed. “Every time I’m on Twitter it’s some bullsh** … Well, besides this whole Jimmy thing which made my day,” she tweeted.
2. PRETTY PETTY
She takes a lot of flak — almost as much as the Biebs — and not just on Twitter. When Nicki Minaj was named Best Female Hip- Hop Artist at last month’s BET awards, she used her acceptance speech to tacitly diss Azalea for using ghostwriters — a big no-no in hip-hop.
The Australian newcomer’s reply? “I have to say the general explosion of pettiness online in the last few days is hard to ignore & honestly … lame,” she wrote in a note posted on Instagram.
“If I had won the BET award that would’ve been great but it wasn’t my year & I don’t mind — so you shouldn’t either. Generally speaking, I’m unbothered by anything that ‘happened’ at the BET awards and just feel worn out by everyone trying to make me have wars with people all the time.”
3. LOTS OF LOVE
So … who loves Iggs? Her boyfriend and basketball star Nick Young. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, also seems to be fond of the flower.
“The 24-year-old delivered a high energy set with her incredible curves almost stealing the show. Stepping out in a Lycra crop-top and high-waisted shorts, the Australian rapper showed off her toned stomach and long legs,” wrote Bella Brennan about Azalea’s set at the Wireless Festival in Birmingham. Ewwww. Really? Minaj should be railing against THOSE kind of writers.
4. WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Take the name of your childhood pet and the name of the street you grew up on … and voila! That’s your porn-star name, as the ol’ game goes.
As it happens, Iggy was the name of her dog … while Azalea was her street, though she claims she didn’t use the formula to come up with her rap handle.
“It was Iggy for a while, for a few years, and then my grandfather actually said to me, ‘You need a stage name. You need a last name and a first name!’ ” she recounted in an interview with 92.3 NOW, a (now defunct) pop station in New York. “I just liked the name Azalea, it’s feminine and it reminds me of home. My family still live there.”
Her real name? Amethyst Amelia Kelly, much too demure for hip-hop.