'The New Classic' is the debut album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
In a modern rap scene full of black men, a white Australian woman has somehow found her way into the charts and she's not backing down quickly. It takes more than a smile to get by as a female rapper and Iggy Azalea's debut effort has proved herself as a name to be taken seriously.
Iggy Azalea joins a list of female rappers in the mainstream music industry that includes Nicki Minaj, Angel Haze and Azealia Banks. Not one of the above had recently released music that is at the roots of what hip-hop really is and stands for, until now. There would've been a lot of money for the taking for Iggy to powder the album with radio-friendly, boppy, Kesha-like hits. Instead Iggy is going for rapping over simple and basic hip-hop tracks such as those in 'Fancy' and 'Black Widow'.
Iggy's verses are peppered with references to how she got to the point she's at. As she reminds the listeners on 'Work', she had "No money, no family, 16 in the middle of Miami". Other verses on 'Walk the Line' and 'Don't Need Y'all" paint a similar picture. Iggy Azalea is a fighter and not an act to be messed around with. In 'The New Classic' she has created a classic rap piece of work that is a foundation to build on. An album that proves that female rappers don't have to sell themselves to the radio in order to be popular, though 'Change Your Life' does do this to a small extent.
In summary however, rap lovers will not be let down by 'The New Classic'. It is not an album that is structurally flawless nor one that will win many awards, but it is an album that provides a classic rap sound that is refreshing to hear after the electro beats of Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks. The female rapper genre is one that is not a joke nor one that is simply classified with pop, it is to be taken as seriously as acts like 2 Chainz, Drake and Schoolboy Q. Iggy, we salute you for a brave venture, a demonstration of what is really possible when "Impossible is Nothing".
8/10
Click here to watch the video for her new single, 'Fancy'
