Ever since she signed to Grand Hustle in 2012, Iggy Azalea has been a name to look out for in hip hop, but with songs like her singles “Fancy” and “Work”, Iggy is slowly moving away from hip hop, and crossing into pop culture a bit more. Does Iggy have the rap skills to be respected? Her album The New Classic answers this question. The New Classic is Iggy Azalea’s debut album, and like with many debuts, there are a few faults. Iggy’s album is not a terrible album, however there are some aspects that seem to throw listeners off when listening to the album as a whole.
Production: The production is what shines bright on The New Classic. Most of the album was produced by The Invisible Men and The Arcade, but this small number of producers do a good job of providing a diverse array of sound ranging from southern hip hop to EDM. “Fancy” even comes off as a beat made from star producer, DJ Mustard. The New Classic’s beat selection stands on the line between hip hop and pop music, and doesn’t tries to hard to step over any of these boundaries.
Lyrics: Iggy doesn’t have the best lyrical talent, meaning that she What makes this possible is Iggy Azalea’s flow. Azalea specializes in fitting her rhymes perfectly with the beats, and this detail is small, yet makes a huge impact when listening to The New Classic. One of the best songs to illustrate this is “Don’t Need Ya’ll”, Azalea switches up between a quickly flying through her rhymes, and slowing down at the drop of dime. Iggy Azalea is a solid rapper with a good flow.
Content: This is where The New Classic is flawed. Even though the album is listenable, it lacks an identity for Iggy Azalea. Azalea has the production and the flow skills to make a solid product, but there wasn’t any depth. Azalea does provide a serious track on The New Classic, however, instead of feeling like her heart was truly being heard through the microphone, it felt more like an inspirational song you would hear off of Never Back Down. The New Classic is an album that you could bump for maybe a month or so, but there are only a few tracks that would keep a strong impression.
All in All, The New Classic has some positive factors to make it a solid debut album from Iggy Azalea, but there wasn’t anything that made her album a complete standout. Sometimes greatness develops from an artists growth, instead of greatness right off the back. Iggy has the tools to become a dope artist, but she needs to find the depth to expand in the future.