Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea is the professional name of Amethyst Amelia Kelly, a rapper and songwriter from Sydney. Born in 1990, she moves to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue music and later becomes associated with hip hop, pop rap and trap.

Early career

She first gains public attention through the YouTube videos for “Pussy” and “Two Times”. She then releases her debut mixtape, Ignorant Art, and signs to Grand Hustle, the label run by American rapper T.I.

Breakthrough and chart success

Azalea’s debut studio album, The New Classic, reaches the top five in several countries and peaks at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. That result makes her the first non-American female rapper to do so. The album is preceded by “Work”, and by “Fancy”, featuring Charli XCX, which reaches number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and receives a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year.

She also appears on Ariana Grande’s single “Problem”, which reaches number two on the Hot 100. With “Fancy” and “Problem”, she becomes the second act after the Beatles to hold the number one and number two positions on the Hot 100 at the same time with debut chart entries. She also places three songs in the US top ten at once with “Fancy”, “Problem” and “Black Widow”, featuring Rita Ora.

Later releases and label changes

After her debut album, Azalea issues several singles for a planned second album, Digital Distortion, but the project is cancelled following conflicts with her record label and other issues. She later signs to Island Records and releases the EP Survive the Summer. After further label disputes, she becomes an independent artist and founds her own label, Bad Dreams, which is distributed through Empire.

Her second studio album, In My Defense, follows in 2019, along with the EP Wicked Lips in the same year. She then releases her third studio album, The End of an Era, in 2021.

Recognition

Azalea is among the best-selling female rappers worldwide. Her awards include two American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a People’s Choice Award and four Teen Choice Awards. She also receives four Grammy Award nominations. Her YouTube channel and collaborations accumulate around 7 billion views, and 15 of her music videos pass 100 million views on Vevo.