8 Things You Might Not Know About Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea is a young female rapper who’s been making a global splash in the hip hop world recently. Over the last year, Iggy’s collaborated on a number of hit records and held a few records of her own. She could possibly be the female version of Eminem, as she’s one of the most successful white artists in rap right now. We wanted to fill you in on some things about Iggy Azalea that you might not already know.

1. Iggy is Not Her Real Name

Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly. Her stage name is derived from her childhood dog’s name, Iggy and the street she grew up on, Azalea. I guess “Amethyst” doesn’t sound edgy enough for a rapper.

2. She’s Not American

Iggy Azalea grew up in the small town of Mullumbimby, in New South Wales, Australia. The young rapper actually speaks with an Australian accent, much different from the Southern drawl she raps in. Iggy became interested in rap and hip-hop music through the Internet. She says she was inspired by Missy Elliot and Tupac’s music growing up, because there weren’t many Australian rappers for her to look up to.

3. Iggy Left Home at 16!

Iggy Azalea moved to the US when she was only 16. She told her parents that she was just going on holiday with a friend. She dropped out of high school and first landed in Miami. Iggy got her GED in Florida while cleaning houses. Then she went on to pursue her hip-hop dreams in Houston, Atlanta and finally LA.

4. Iggy Azalea is Part of the Grand Hustle Crew

Atlanta rapper, T.I., took Iggy Azalea under his wing in 2013 when he made her part of his Grand Hustle crew. T.I. is very protective of the young star, which can be frustrating at times for Iggy because she feels her creativity is hindered. She was quoted saying, “I do take advice from T.I. … It sometimes gets frustrating to me … because people think that maybe he dictates my sound or how I make a song or what songs I do.”

5. Iggy Shares a Record with the Beatles

Iggy’s first two singles, “Fancy” and “Problem” held the number 1 and number 2 spots on the Billboard Top 100 list for a few weeks. This one-two punch achievement has only been accomplished once before, by the Beatles in 1964!

6. Azalea Thinks the Rap Industry is Sexist

Well, duh! But, Iggy says she can’t believe in this day and age that radio can only seem to feature one female rap signer at a time. She says the sexism starts with the big executives in the record labels.  Iggy even mentioned an incident where she was sexually assaulted by a male fan during one of her concerts when she tried to crowd surf. She believes that respect is definitely something that is still missing from the hip hop industry and hopes things change in the future.

7. Iggy’s Involved in Fashion

Iggy Azalea was signed by Wilhelmina Models back in 2012. She went on to become the face of Levi Jeans that same year. This past spring she attended Paris and New York Fashion Week and was named as one of the style stars to watch. Iggy says one of her favorite designers is Chloé and she’s looking forward to working with them in the future.

8. Being a White Female Rapper Has Helped Her Career

Iggy says that people are interested in her because she’s different. Being a white female rapper from Australia, a country where there’s not a big hip-hop culture, raises curiosity. What we don’t appreciate is that she raps with a southern American twang rather than her authentic Aussie accent.