Iggy Azalea

The New Classic (Island)

Not long ago, Iggy Azalea’s rise would’ve constituted a watershed development. A spunky Aussie rapper? Orthodoxy shock! Between Ke$ha’s chart rule, Kreayshawn’s hotshot moment, Danny Brown’s androgyny, and Mykki Blanco’s homosexuality, those lines remain permanently blurred. That doesn’t make Azalea’s major-label debut any less glib. A breezy 12 tracks of twerk, trap, and juvenile flow, she preaches an overcome-the-odds hook on opener “Walk the Line,” and closes New Classic repeating “Fuck love/ Give me diamonds.” If you’ve paid any attention to pop music over the last summer, you probably already know the highlights: icy, inescapable “Fancy,” T.I.-featuring “Change Your Life,” and the ancient “Work,” which originally earned the MC her YouTube buzz all the way back in 2013. Iggy Azalea’s a fun girl booty-shaking a few morsels of neon, hashtag-spangled pop. (5:30pm, RetailMeNot stage)

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This article appears in October 3 • 2014.

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