Since Iggy Azalea made her rapid rise to stardom with smash single "Fancy", the internet and general music populous has ripped her to shreds; writing her off as a gimmicky white female rapper with no talent. After digesting all of her debut LP The New Classic, I can safely that I do not agree with that assessment at all. Yes, the southern drawl she raps with is inauthentic (Azalea is from Australia) and her lyrics leave be a lot to desired, but neither of those things really bother me that much. Her music is heavily rooted in trap and in the world of trap all that matters is a good flow and punchy, memorable beats- both of which Azalea has in spades. Anyone doubting Azalea's ability to rap should be silenced immediately after listening to "Goddess"; where Azalea goes off with a level of confidence and fire that would put a large number of her mainstream male counterparts to shame.
Azalea's charisma and flow are infectious, but they can't fully save The New Classic from its faults. The trap verses with pop hooks formula that is used throughout backfires when Azalea herself does the hooks. Her in-your-face persona and lack of singing ability makes a majority of the hooks she does herself (save for the aforementioned "Goddess") fall flat compared to the hooks that pop artists Rita Otra, Watch the Duck and Charli XCX do on other spots of the record. This formula also leads to some huge misfires in "New Bitch", "Change Your Life" and "Don't Need Y'all". No amount of skilled delivery and solid production can take away from how obnoxious these tracks are. The New Classic certainly doesn't live up to its namesake, but this is ultimately a promising debut that shows off Azalea's strong skills on the mic. With a bit more emphasis on the rapping side opposed to the pop end of her sound and more consistent hooks, Azalea could amount to something truly great.
3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Goddess
2.Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
3.Black Widow (feat. Rita Otra)
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