It’s been a stormy week for Iggy Azalea. She’s been criticised, pilloried, defended and schooled in a Twitter beef that she’s kept pretty well away from. That is until now.
The rapper, who was raised in the Australian hippy haven Mullumbimby, has returned serve with a string of tweets. In one message, Iggy says she finds it “patronizing to assume i have no knowledge of something I'm influenced by, but I've also grown up with strangers assuming that.” There’s no name-check, but it’s a safe bet the note was aimed at Q-Tip, who taught Iggy a hip hop history lesson via the platform of Twitter.
Iggy is no stranger to criticism, though her supporters are just as vocal. Back in May, R&B artist K Michelle kicked things off with a single tweet: “How can you be from another country and rap like you're from Memphis TN? But u don't hear me though #offended”. That time, Perez Hilton stepped up to defend the Aussie while Questlove later declared "Fancy" a “game-changer”. Iggy backed herself when Snoop Dogg shared an inflammatory meme, and when she was caught in a brutal Twitter barrage from Azealia Banks (Banks later gave an emotional radio interview where she discussed the appropriation of black culture by white artists).
In her latest series of tweets, Iggy thanked Lupe Fiasco and will.i.am for coming to her defense. And she wraps it all up with a cheery Christmas message.