Iggy Azalea
Red Bull Sound Space
5-9-2014

Friday afternoon, Iggy Azalea took the stage looking like a life-sized Barbie doll. The show was held for an audience of about 200 Amp Radio listeners who had won tickets to the performance, celebrating Azalea's new record, The New Classic. 

Booty shorts and charming Australian accents abounded.
]

Before her performance, Amp Radio DJ Booker asked Azalea a few questions about her new album, which has kinda blown up, debuting at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, while “Problem,” Ariana Grande's single that features Azalea rapping, has gotten lots of play as well.

Booker suggested that The New Classic had a Grammy nomination coming for it. “Don't jinx me!” she said, looking for something made of wood to knock. “I try not to prepare for those sorts of things. I think those are the types of things in life you just have to hope to be surprised by.”

When she spoke, Azalea was sweet, soft-spoken and modest. Then she started rapping, and it was like someone flipped a switch.

Credit: Photo by Artemis Thomas-Hansard

Credit: Photo by Artemis Thomas-Hansard

Take the opening lines of “Beat Down”: “What you looking' at, do I got something in my eye?/ Do I got shit up on my face, or did my hair catch on fire?” She became a machine-gun, riddling feisty lyrics like bullets. “See I'm about to get with it, I'm getting ratchet and livid.” 

Next she performed “Bounce,” a commanding, club-ready single. “Let your hair down and shake that shit/ Sweat it out, go nuts in this bitch.” Her troop of backup dancers booty-popped and swung their hips along with her. “Shake it, break it, make it bounce.”


Next was “Work,” her first single, that tells the story of how she saved money to move from Mullumbimby to Miami at the age of 16 to pursue her dreams of becoming a rapper. Her story is inspiring, but the song is no tear-jerker, full of fury and fire. She once scrubbed floors as an ambitious teenager, and has worked her ass off to make it where she is today.     

She closed the set with “Fancy,” her hit with Charlie XCX; it's a stylish, glamourous and swagalicious ode to confidence that is catchy as hell. It's currently number 2 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart, and “Problem” is number 1. Not bad!

She only played four songs, but it was a good show nonetheless. Azalea has worked against the odds, but now things are swinging in her favor. 

Like us on Facebook at LAWeeklyMusic

Shitty Band Names: A History
The 10 Best Record Stores in L.A.
Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.