Iggy Azalea is Australia’s biggest hip-hop star ever. Face it. She’s big in the States, and now she’s spent most of 2013 feeding the apparently Iggy-hungry European market with her infectious second single ‘Bounce’, performing at festivals from London to Norway, doing her own shows and joining artists like Nas and Rita Ora on tour. Since she popped up and intrigued the internets with her videos for ‘Pu$$y’, ‘Two Times’ and ‘My World’ less than two years ago, she’s released three mixtapes and scored a modelling contract with Wilhelmina. Now, our issue #26 cover girl is finally dropping the LP title that’s been tattooed on her fingers for a while. But she wanted to catch up and talk lizard people before doing so.
What’s your favorite song to hear in the club right now?
I try not to ever be in the club. I do a pretty good job at never being there. But I think if I were in the club my favorite song would be a song by a rapper called YG from LA. He has a song called You Broke. That’s my favorite song I could imagine in the club. He says “Bitch, you broke. Shut up.” [Laughs.] That just makes me feel good when he says that.
How many pair of Louboutins do you own now?
A few. Probably 40 pair. But I’m very into shoes.
What’s your guilty pleasure purchase?
My guilty purchase pleasure would be… really everything to be honest with you. But probably handbags – that’s my guiltiest pleasure because you can only use one at a time and they cost so much fucking money. I buy them way more than I should. Then I never really use them. I bought a python Givenchy bag a month ago, and I’ve used it one time. It’s so expensive that I’m scared I will ruin it.
Your new stage show has been getting a lot of attention lately due to your twerking. Did you learn to twerk in the States or in Australia?
It’s funny, that. I’ve done twerking in my stage show since my very first show. I just think people are starting to see it more now that the media outlets are all talking about it and finally understand what the fuck it is. But it’s definitely something that I learned in America. I had never seen anybody twerk in Australia when I lived there.
Who taught you?
Nobody really taught me. I lived down south for a long time, and everybody likes to dance like that at parties. And I love to dance too, I guess.
Would you describe yourself as ratchet?
No. Definitely not. And nobody really should.
You’ve said that you’re trying to stay away from twerk songs for a while. How long?
Not too long. I perform a song on my stage show that I twerk to called Cheeks, which is obviously a twerk song. I have twerk songs on my album. What I meant when I said that is I will never release a twerk song a single because people like to sensationalise my butt or say that I only make twerk music, and that frustrates me as an artist to be portrayed as one-dimensional. That’s why I said that.
What’s the sound of the album?
It doesn’t really have a sound. It’s kind of craziness. There’s all types of shit. Some stuff sounds more commercial. Some stuff has very heavy electronic elements, like drum and bass. Some stuff is kind of a mix, like Work. It’s a kind of a mix of hip-hop sounding drums with electronic stuff over the top. Some stuff more soundscape-y. It’s a tornado.
How does it feel to finally be done with it?
I’m not done with it. I was just working on it last night. I’m not done. Probably will be done the middle of August. I’ll be done with it by then, hopefully. I’ll probably work on it until the last hour. I’m a psycho.
Why was it important to get personal and talk about your life on the album?
I see, I read and I hear letters from people trying to communicate with me saying that I inspire them or that I influence them. And I think that if I have people who I inspire they would want to know who it is that they’re following. I think it’s important so they know who they’re listening to.
And you haven’t changed the title of the album since the beginning. Why did you keep it when a lot of people would change?
Yeah, a lot of people do change. I’m real stubborn, first of all. And I think as an artist I have a concept in my head first. My concept for The New Classic was a reflection of new sounds in rap music. With any of my projects – Glory, Ignorant Art – I have a title and I have a concept or idea, and then I make music that goes along with the concept or idea. My concept dictates the music. I don’t have the music first and then think of a name for it once it’s done. That doesn’t make sense to me because it’s conceptual. So my concept hasn’t changed, and it won’t change because I like to stick to something until I complete it.
What’s the strangest thing a fan ever gave you?
They never give me anything too weird. They may give me cupcakes or friendship bracelets. But they never give me anything too strange. Some of them might say strange things in letters, and that’s really creepy. I don’t want to say what they’re saying because I know that people read my interviews, and I wouldn’t want to single anyone out as being a creep. But sometimes it’s like, “That was really weird, bro. That was kind of Stan-ish.” It’s probably more things people say than do.
Do you eat the cupcakes?
I actually do. It’s funny. When I was in Chicago, I love butter cakes and somebody baked me one. It was wrapped in foil, and everyone was saying “Don’t eat the cake. Don’t eat the cake. It’s poisoned.” But I was like, “Look, all I know is I saw the girl who gave it to me. She’s written her phone number and Twitter account on this card. So if I die, you know who killed me. I’m eating this shit.” And I’m still alive, so it worked out. I mean if there were some old ladies on the street having a bake sale, I’d eat their cake, too.
Are there any Australian lollies or snacks you miss?
There are. I really love Twisties. I love to eat Twisties. [Laughs.] I love Summer Rolls. And I love Minties that are these little lollies or candies.
Do you have male groupies?
Hmm… I’d say I do, actually. I’d say I do.
And how does that work? How can you be a male groupie?
How does it work to be a male groupie? I suppose the same way that it works for the girls just with guys. But there are definitely straight guys that come and try to get my autograph and follow me around. And do that sort of thing, for sure.
Do you ever let them on the bus?
No. [Laughs.] It’s funny that you’re asking me that because I was with a few of my guy friends, who were out here for Wireless Festival as well, and we were hanging out one night, a group of us. They were like, “You should write a song about male groupies. Haven’t you ever taken one down? Ha ha ha ha ha.” I was like no. That would be weird.
It’s just the reaping of your success.
Um, no. That formulates into bags and shoes, not strange penis on the tour bus. [Laughs.]
What’s something a guy can do to become instantly less attractive in your eyes?
I think if you’re American and you start to instantly make jokes about kangaroos or trying to do my accent, you’re instantly way less attractive to me because it’s like, “Oh my God, you’re so fucking stupid. I hate you.” And probably something you can do to make yourself attractive to me is if you ever want to talk about aliens or conspiracy theories. I’ll probably think you’re cool. [Laughs.]
So you like guys who wear tin-foil hats?
I don’t want you to be involved in them. It’s just think it’s funny to have your mind open to the possibility of stuff like that or know things like that. I met somebody the other day, and we were talking about how there’s this crazy guy who used to be a sports journalist, and he turned into some crazy conspiracy theory guy. He thinks that there’s this race of reptilian aliens that secretly rule the world. And something like four percent of Americans believe this guy’s theory, which is actually a lot of people when you think about it. You can go to areyoualizardpersonornot.com, and it goes through all the celebrities who people think are or aren’t lizards. Sometimes I’ll read it on the tour bus and cackle laughing. So if you can know stupid stuff like that and be able to talk about it with me, I’ll totally think you’re cool.
What’s the best bit of advice T.I. ever gave you?
He said “Don’t run your race based on when other people have gone or are racing. You have to run your own race. Don’t do anything based on what other people are doing.”
What about Nas?
He just always tells me “You don’t owe the world anything more than to have a thought, create the thought or concept, put it on paper and hopefully it’s entertaining to people. If you’re able to do that, you’re a great artist.”