Iggy Azalea - White, Female, and Rapper - Case Study Example

Iggy Azalea: White, Female and Rapper Iggy Azalea is a white blond Australian woman but she sings and performs as if she was black. Her behavior is often discussed in popular media where she is accused of being racist or, on the contrary, is celebrated for the cultural appropriation of minority music for the mainstream (Convey). Videos by Iggy Azalea have hundreds of millions views on YouTube; her songs are regularly mentions in world top charts. Even though there are other singers who have very similar style in music like Nicky Minaj, the case of Iggy Azalea is extremely interesting due to the fact that she behaves as a representative of racial minority while she does not belong to it. This essay will focus on music by Iggy Azalea in order to show how it relates to the issue of race and gender in the world and in the USA in particular. Female rappers and hip-hop stars can hardly compete with male rappers in their quest for popularity. According to Keyes, rap and hip-hop are often associated with "male urban culture" even though females actively contributed to its development. This inequality between men and women in rap community is reflected in the fact that women are misrepresented in conventional rap lyrics. In this way, women are not motivated to enter this community on the basis of equality. There are not many black female rappers who achieved great success in the world. There are also not many white male or female rappers who became really popular. Being a white female, Iggy Azalea manages to have it all and become even more popular than recognized world rappers. Female rap is a specific genre of music because it presupposes inequality of male and female artists in order to succeed. Obviously, female rap is thematically different from male rap; female emcees are more likely to talk about their quest for independence, freedom and complicated life of a woman. Only women who grow up in a certain community can become accepted rappers. In the process of interviewing female rappers, Keyes finds out that there are four types of behavior female rappers can choose; "Queen Mother", "Fly Girl", "Sista and Attitude" and "Lesbian" models can be switched or performed simultaneously by the same rapper (Keyes). However, all these categories involve certain characteristics and experiences typical for life of an African-American woman. Out of these four categories Iggy Azalea can be classified as a "Fly Girl" which means a woman who uses her style and physical features to make people hear what she says. At the same time, Iggy Azalea cannot fully meet the demands of this category because of her different race. Being white, she does not have the same experience as African American female rappers. Hooks mentions that African American women are often mistreated in media due to their skin color; for instance, the percentage of non-white models is lower than white because they do not meet white beauty standard. According to Sellen, typical female rap dwells on four categories of "sexuality, female embodiment, power and blackness" (50). According to Keyes, one more feature of female rappers is that they group in "crews" where they share the same interests. Usually these crews present certain time or direction in rap. Iggy Azalea cannot be included to any of these crews because of her skin color. The article by Hooks lists a number of features typical for black sexuality and Iggy Azalea has them all in her image. For instance, "protruding butt" is treated as "heightened sexuality" and it is not surprising that Iggy Azalea does not miss the chance to dress up or pose for photos in a way that stresses her body parts (Hooks 123). Hooks mentions that sexualization of black female body presupposes specific attire like swimsuit. If to scroll down the gallery of photos of Iggy Azalea, one can note that she is often dressed in mini shorts and a top showing off her body to a greater extent than celebrities usually do. Azaleas attempts to sound like an African American woman from an ordinary in-city neighborhood brings her popularity and create many controversial issues related to her music and career. According to Convey, her accent is not surprising because American pop scene dominates in Australia and many singers resort to the same tip to enter American music industry. As an example of black sexuality in Azaleas lyrics, one can have a look at her song "Booty". The whole song is devoted to singing about dancing and certain body parts. The refrain of the song is "Big, big booty // What you got a big booty"; back to the article by Hooks, it is a direct reference to specific understanding of female sexuality in African American community and presentation of the image of a "wild" and openly sexual woman. Skin color of the artist is used as a benefit in this case because she has more chances to succeed and she becomes unique in her music niche. Another popular song by Iggy Azalea called "Fancy" presents the image of a confident and independent woman who can do whatever she wants. This song is racially neutral; however, it focuses on the themes of female embodiment, power and sexuality in a way discussed in Sellens article. "Fancy" is one of the most popular songs on YouTube because it shows a certain compromise between African American culture and White culture. It is a new product of multiculturalism and it presents the way different communities can merge in one person. Many contemporary speculate some elements of African American culture in order to change their image; for instance, Miley Cyrus resorts to twerking in one of her latest videos. Other singers choose to sing "poor as cool" because it is a new treand in culture. Nobody has went as far as Iggy Azalea did. According to Convey, Iggy Azalea grew up in a society where "the development of a narrative about racism and national identity focusing on immigration and fear" existed all together. She lived in rural community and ran away from home when she was 16. She was picked by a famous rapper T.I. and he became her producer. This situation is totally opposite to ordinary music scenes where black female singers have to follow directions from their white male producers as it is described in the article by Keyes. Azalea uses this episode of her life in the song "Work" where she tells about the difficult times in her life. Iggy Azalea is not perceived seriously by the community of rappers and those people who appreciate true rap. There are many resources on the web where she is described sarcastically as a "rapper" and not a real rapper. Overall, it is difficult to say whether Iggy Azalea is good or bad. Her music meets the standards of American rap/pop industry. Her style and appearance give her a green light to build a successful career. At the same time, her music becomes complicated when it is interpreted in the context of race, gender and sexuality. She is the first white female rapper who achieved such a great success and reached diverse audiences worldwide. At the same time, her behavior violates the norms of the community that inspired her music. Black female rappers do not rush to accept her in their crew because it seems that she is mocking minority communities by her behavior. All in all, she is on the top now and there is a need to pay a closer look at the way how she makes the issues of race and gender discussed at every corner. Works Cited Convey, Stephanie. "In Defence of Iggy Azalea: On Racism, Naivety and a Twisted Cluster of Exploitation". The Guardian. October, 2014. Web. December 13,2014. Hooks, Bell. “Selling Hot Pussy: Representations of Black Female Sexuality in the Cultural Marketplace.” In The Politics of Women’s Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior. Second edition. Rose Weitz, ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2003. Pp 122-32. iggyazaleamusicVEVO. “Iggy Azalea – Work (Explicit)”. Youtube. March 13, 2013.Web. December 12, 2014. Keyes, Cheryl L. "Empowering Self, Making Choices, Creating Spaces." Ethnomusicology: A Contemporary Reader (2013): 97. Sellen, Eliza. "Missy ‘Misdemeanor’Elliott: Rapping on the frontiers of female identity." Journal of International Womens Studies 6.3 (2013): 50-63. Read More