Mixtape Mayhem: Ignorant Art

Straight out of Sydney, Australia, is one of the newest and hottest chicks to hip hop, Iggy Azalea. A tall blonde girl is not the typical face of hip-hop’s next it girl, but Iggy is not someone to be brushed aside and forgotten. She was featured as the first female to appear in XXL’s Freshman Class of 2012 along with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, Roscoe Dash, and Hopsin. She’s sold out shows in New York all last month and wrapped up a circle of international shows over the weekend. She’s been rapping since she was fourteen, and relocated to Miami at sixteen to try and make it in the American hip-hop game.

For inspiration, she says her favorites are 2Pac, OutKast, and Kanye West. Her lyrics, however, recall the vulgarity of Lil’ Kim circa the mid-90s. Her sensational YouTube hit is blatantly titled “PU$$Y”, and she’s been flagged several times for showing off her goodies. Iggy released her mixtape, Ignorant Art, last September which has gained recognition from lots of big names and talks of a record deal. After some confusion with Interscope earlier this year, she was signed to T.I.’s Grand Hustle label, and is planning to release a debut album, New Classic, later this summer. Iggy has also been getting attention throughout the hip-hop community for simply being not liked.

Immediately following her spotlight in XXL, a beef with another up-and-coming Harlem-based artist, Azealia Banks, shot her into more fame. Banks has received lots of attention from her YouTube based hit, “212″. The two have shared heated words over Twitter on several occasions, even bringing in Grand Hustle CEO T.I. to comment in several radio interviews. Eve also said that she was unimpressed with Iggy. Although most hip-hop heads are quick to dismiss white female rappers (Kreayshawn, anyone?), Iggy is definitely someone to keep an eye on. To count down the time until her album, make sure you check out Ignorant Art - it’s not worth missing.

By Cerise Castle