Slowly but surely, Iggy season is getting back into motion and whether you like it or not, the rapper is moving forward. To put it nicely, 2015 was a massive whirlwind for the Australian rapper who stormed the scene with a few singles and then burst into massive fame thanks to her chart-topping hit, ‘Fancy.’ Met with much criticism and being often questioned about her authenticity, Iggy Azalea has remained relatively quiet for the past several months and has put that energy in creating her upcoming sophomore album, Digital Distortion. These days, outside of perfecting the new album, Iggy can be found covering Elle Canada and even sat down for a new revealing but insightful interview. Touching on topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement, wanting to erase 2015, and being accepted by the Hip-Hop community, if there’s one that can be said towards Ms. Azalea’s benefit, it’s that she’s always transparent with how she feels.
Are you looking for acceptance from the hip-hop community?
“Certain people who don’t like me think that I don’t love rap music, but I love rap music. I love it like it’s my fucking husband…. I think a lot of people in hip hop have a tough time finding something in common with me. At least white [and black] male rappers both have dicks and they’re American. But for me, I’m a white woman from Australia. I get it, but I think we have a lot more in common than they think.”
If you could redo anything from 2015, would you?
“Umm, yeah…of course. If I could, I would Men in Black memory-erase 2015, I totally would—that would be amazing! Oh, God, there are so many things. I think the Azealia Banks thing is what really started it all. We don’t like each other on a personal level, and that has gone on for many years—before the Black Lives Matter incident happened. So when I dismissed her, people started to think that I dismissed the whole movement, but I wasn’t trying to dismiss Black Lives Matter—I was trying to dismiss her because it’s our personal shit. I don’t think the subject matter of her tweet was invalid; I just think it was emotionally charged and driven by something else, and the whole thing got so misconstrued. I just wish I had acknowledged the issue head-on because it made people think I don’t care about what’s going on socially and what’s happening in America, and I do care. Even though I still hate Azealia Banks, I wish I had said it in a way that didn’t make people think I was oblivious to the movement. And I wish I hadn’t gotten into a fight with Papa John’s!”
Revealing, indeed, there’s no doubt that Iggy is hoping that round 2 is much easier than round one. You can check out more from Iggy’s cover story and accompanying spread, here.