The New Classic
\"Ain\'t no going back now,\" sings Australian triple threat Iggy Azalea on the majestic opening track of the emphatically titled *The New Classic*. It\'s a good thing the rapper/singer/model has such resolve; her debut album faced long delays as she navigated the major-label maze. Having finally arrived, it posits Azalea as pop-hop\'s latest superstar: a nimble, catty rapper who sounds perfectly at home amid a panoply of club-destined bangers. Helmed by a who\'s-who of in-demand producers (The Invisible Men, The Messengers, Stargate), *The New Classic* is impossibly sleek, its beats revved up and zooming like a Ferrari down Rodeo Drive. \"100,\" a slinking guitar groove produced by and featuring the Atlanta trap trio Watch the Duck, includes Azalea running down her shopping list: \"No Michael Kors, just Tom Ford.\" She invites haters to \"walk a mile in these Louboutins\" on \"Work,\" a trap anthem that describes Azalea\'s hardscrabble background: \"Sixteen in the middle of Miami, no money, no family.\" Clearly she\'s come a long way.
If you've got your sights set on stardom, on making a name for yourself, Azalea's the role model you should adore. Let her gospel be an allegory for your rise.
It’s on this wave of hype and infamy that ‘The New Classic’ – first slated to drop in early 2012 – belatedly arrives, delayed while Azalea vacillated between contract offers, worked the UK festival circuit and toured in support of Nas and Beyoncé, respectively.
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23-year old Australian native Iggy Azalea gained notoriety when she first appeared on the cover of XXL's Freshman Class 2012, and shortly after inked an independent deal with T.I.'s Hustle Gang imprint.
Iggy Azalea has been working on and touting her debut record for over two years.
Album review + stream: Iggy Azalea, 'The New Classic'. "Iggy’s the real deal. She always knew it; now you do too…"
There's more to the abrasive Australian pop rapper than lurid posturing, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong>
The New Classic showcases an artist who’s still in the process of figuring out who she wants to be.
<p>Iggy Azalea's long-delayed solo album has its moments, but feels less forward-thinking than her early mixtapes, writes <strong>Tshepo Mokoena</strong></p>
She may only be 23, but Iggy Azalea got off to a good start with those of us a good decade older last month when the video accompanying her single “Fancy” - an homage to 90s teen comedy Clueless - debuted online. Nostalgia sells, of course: any idiot with access to the nightwear department at Primark, where right now pyjamas featuring Alicia Silverstone and the rest share shelf space with My Little Pony, could tell you that.