Iggy Azalea should be used to critics by now. The Australian rapper has been under the mentorship of Atlanta rap star T.I., and he’s come to her defense numerous times in the media. Before her breakthrough smash single “Fancy” took over radio this summer, Azalea had numerous detractors. Everything from her questionable lyrics in the past to her faux Dirty South accent have come under scrutiny from those who believe she’s a culture thief making waves simply because she’s an attractive white woman–a notion that Tip somewhat endorsed earlier this summer.
Azalea’s gotten some backlash due to insensitive tweets she posted earlier in her career that mocked various ethnic groups, and she was also criticized for referring to herself as a “runaway slave master” on “D.R.U.G.S.” back in 2012. But in speaking with Complex, T.I. made it clear that he has no tolerance for the Iggy hate.
“That pisses me off,” he said. “Simply because they don’t have any real substantial grounds. ‘I don’t like them.’ Why? ‘Just ‘cause.’ What you mean just ‘cause? Since when do you get the right to judge people? Who died and made you the emperor of Egypt? That kind of s–t and then the things that they accuse her of, like the racist stuff. That’s not even her. That’s not even in her. Me knowing her, knowing where she comes from—for real, the whole racist thing, that’s American—we forget, she’s not American. So the whole Black, white, color divided thing, it isn’t a part of her DNA like it is here in America. It’s just ignorant to me.”
Tip went on to say that it’s hypocritical to be prejudiced against Iggy because of her race.
“In this day and age, to be a race of people who are demanding equality and speaking out on injustices and wanting to be treating fairly, to stand up and do the exact same thing in opposite to someone unwarranted for no reason, it’s hypocritical,” he explained. “I’ma ride with her. So, ya’ll go ahead. Anybody got a problem with it just know, it gon’ be one ‘cause I’m coming.”
