After nine months of weekly articles from non-music media outlets hyping the rise of Iggy Azalea, the Australian starlet finally made her game-changing admission into what is usually “superstar status” – lawsuits from former beaus, music partners, and out-of-nowhere family members, and not to mention backlash towards her profile status from a community that only accounts for roughly 26% of music sales since 2009.
Ever since her first mainstream performance at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards, many people have been anticipating a bright future for this rising rapper, especially those who knew her before. She is well-known for her underground mixtape releases and 2011 independently released videos.
I’ve always read reports saying that fellow femme rapper Nicki Minaj has been hard to please in the past few months. Rumors said that she refused to keep her outrageous and daring fashion image in order to not be compared in any way to Iggy Azalea last year. It was also said that she demanded some respect this year, which was the reason behind her recent performances of her single “Anaconda.”
With all this said, it’s fair to say that making the superstar with one of the highest profiles in hip hop essentially open up an awards show (perform first) should be good news for Iggy.
Azalea is currently singed onto a multi-year contract with Def Jam Records, and all news and reports say that executives are very high on her. Those reports were confirmed after a stretch of high-profile appearances (including a feature on the new Jennifer Lopez album), and it’s obvious now that there are some big plans for her. It’s one thing to be featured on a single with Charli XCX, who’s a talented English Electronic Singer/Songwriter in her own right. It’s a completely different level to appear on a single with Jennifer Lopez, regardless of her current diminishing status in the music industry (she’s still a worldwide star, who will likely command a major tour in 2014-15, even with lukewarm results from her latest album).
If we take a look at the current women in hip hop, we could easily notice that Minaj is not the only one who could be having to make room for Azalea among the ranks. A returning Eve and other elderstateswomen artists could be doing the same thing during different times in the foreseeable future.
Iggy Azalea is currently 24 years old, and I think she can easily record for more than six to seven years. She’s good looking with a snobby but girl-next-door persona. She definitely has decent mic and performance skills. In other words, she has the full package of future top superstar.
Of course, I’m not saying that Azalea’s next album would be a game-changer or a hip hop classic. Her debut album was just to get her the stability she needed after 2 years of label situations and shuffling, and I’m sure she still has long way to go. I think her next few singles could dwell into the EDM space, where she would establish herself as a credible hit-maker.
I’m one of the people who were impressed with Azalea’s debut, and I’m glad that Steve Bartels at then-Island Def Jam took a chance on the budding Australian with a Southern American rap accent. Although she has not made any new fans with the African American community, she has already cemented her status among those who purchase albums, singles, and merchandise.
Sounds like a superstar in the making to me.
