Iggy Azalea is officially back and better than ever!
Wearing all pink everything with icy jewelry, the 29-year-old rapper absolutely slays on the cover of Cosmopolitan's September issue. Inside the magazine, she gets real about how she overcame past struggles to drop her second studio album, In My Defense, out now.
Speaking with the outlet, Azalea reflects on the time in her life when she was constantly criticized for her high-profile relationship with now-ex Nick Young from 2014-2016, along with her loss at the 2014 GRAMMYs for her hit song "Fancy." In 2015, she was set to headline a North American tour, but later canceled it due to a "creative change of heart."
Azalea says she simply needed a break, telling Cosmopolitan that her management team helped her with her well-being. She reveals that, in order to deal with it all, she attended a mental-health retreat in Arizona for two weeks.
"They just didn't want me to f**k up my own life, basically," she admits. "I just couldn't get out of functioning at this insanity level. Where you're like, 'Whoa, hold on, don't operate the vehicle.'"
As soon as the rapper felt she was ready to get back on her two feet, Azalea decided it was also time to be her own boss. That happened last year, when the Australian artist signed a $2.7 million partnership deal with Empire Distribution to become an independent artist after leaving her former record label, Island Records.
"I guess I'm sort of my own boss," she says. "Well, I am my own boss. I should say that with authority: 'I am my own boss.'"
Flash-forward to the present day, Azalea's officially back with a brand-new album and an all-new attitude. She says that her second chance at music is not something she will take for granted.
"You get as many shots as you are able to persevere for in life, no matter what you do," she explains. "You get as many chances as you're willing to sit there and f**king really fight for it tooth and nail."
"I'm not going to stop fighting for a second chance until somebody f**king gives me one," she adds. "And then I'm not going to f**k it up."
Unapologetically herself, Azalea is set on writing lyrics that are in line with what she wants to talk about, when she wants to talk about it. She knows that her real fans, whom she describes as "free thinkers," will support that decision.
"I'm still going to make the same type of music and still be ridiculous and larger than life," she jokes, declaring that she "can't be that f**k ing sorry about it."
The "Sally Walker" rapper couldn't be in a better place right now. She's currently living in Atlanta, Georgia, with her boyfriend, Playboi Carti. Looking back at her growth over the past few years, and when she was in her early 20s, she says, "The older I get, the less I f**king know about anything."
While many fans praised Azalea for being so raw and real in her interview, the rapper took to Twitter on Tuesday to address some concerns she had with the article Cosmopolitan published on their website.
"Ask me about steak; if you wanna write about steak," she wrote, calling out the reporter in a series of since-deleted tweets. "Or were you being shady on purpose."
"Hmmmmm.... I just wish I was able to speak with her about the topic she actually wrote about, Ya know?" another tweet read.
Although Azalea didn't specify which specific part of the article she was upset with, fans on Twitter believe it was the section where she discussed cultural appropriation.
"You could ask one person of the same race, 'Does this affect you?' and they will say yes," Azalea is quoted as saying in the magazine feature. "But another person will say no. They could be from the same place, same everything, but have different perspectives about it."
Many have speculated that Azalea was likely talking about not being sorry for the style of music she continues to create. Instead, the article seems to convey that she is unapologetic for profiting off of another culture.
Cosmopolitan has yet to respond to Azalea's reaction. Hear more on the rapper in the video below.
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