Photo courtesy: GQ
With claims of “inauthenticity” and “appropriation” aplenty, the center of Iggy Azalea‘s fall from grace has not been centered around poor promotion or musical missteps (as most of her releases BANG), but instead have been concentrated on race and culture. This idea, the rapstress asserted in a recent sit down with GQ magazine, is not far from her gaze – even if she doesn’t talk about it.
Just a day after making headlines for taking to ‘Paper’ magazine for one of her most politically charged interviews yet (click here to read more on that), the Grammy-nominee continues to shed light on hot topics such as ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Black culture, and how her connection to the concept is not only deeply rooted in the story of her life, but also far from fabricated.
Will her impassioned plea fall on deaf ears? Read inside and see the stunning photos that accompany the tell-all interview:
On why she’s never publicly supported the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement:
“I’ve tried not to be too political because I am an immigrant. I’m on a visa. I’m not trying to go to a protest where they’re arresting celebrities and making an example of them because I’ll get deported.”
Would having a green card (which she received in March 2018) change her stance?
“I don’t think you’ll ever see me at a march. I should show that I support those things but I’m not a political activist. I don’t wanna bring the complications of the world into my arena. I understand why people criticize that because I have a voice in hip-hop. I make ‘black’ music. I don’t want people to think it’s not something I care about.”
On White privilege:
“The whole privilege thing is a rough conversation,” she says. “I understand that in America there is institutionalized racism and there is privilege that comes with the color of your skin. That’s real. I grew up in a situation that didn’t involve any privilege and I worked really hard…”
On the commercial failure of ‘Savior’:
“Of course it’s not going to be streamed as much or have as many views when I’m not twerking,” she says. “Part of me wishes it had the numbers as a measure of success.”
Click here to read the interview in full.
QUEEN OF RAP HANDS DOWN
Poor girl she was just a pon…. just like remy and the rest of the rappers trying make it after Nicki….. the industry is cruel and fans are sheep.
A pon? wow.
Ugh. I HATE when white people address white privilege with economics. “I grew up here and worked really hard”. That literally has nothing to do with what white privilege actually is. The word privilege does not automatically refer to money?
I tried explaining that to my coworker and he keeps saying “I get where you’re coming from, but I was dirt poor growing up.” Every single time he said BUT just showed me he does not, in fact, get it. Like you said, privilege has nothing to do with money. So shut the f*** up Seth!!!!
If someone truly believes in the issue they are fighting for, the threat of arrest or deportation does not stop or interfere with their fight. Our ancestors marched with the threat and fear of DEATH hovering over their heads. She’s making excuses and now makes me loath her even more.
As if they would have really deported her anyway. She’s a rich celebrity.
haha b**** said she “makes” Black music. guuurl, appropriation does not = creation hunny. and last any 1 checked; that voice in hip hop you’re speaking of is purely laughter… why wont she just go the fcuk away.
On White privilege:
“The whole privilege thing is a rough conversation,” she says. “I understand that in America there is institutionalized racism and there is privilege that comes with the color of your skin. That’s real. I grew up in a situation that didn’t involve any privilege and I worked really hard…”
IS SHE SERIOUS??? Iggy is from Australia there is Racism Systemic and Institutionalized there also as well as White Privilege. White Privilege does not mean that you achieve things without work it means you don’t have to deal with certain matters of discrimination based on race no do you face certain systematic restraints it does not mean your life is easy or that you don’t have to work to achieve success. She clearly STILL doesn’t grasp the concept based on this answer alone which is why she will NEVER be genuinely accepted in the culture that she seeks to earn a living off of.
Exactly….ask the Aboriginies….they know all about the institutionalized racism in Australia and the white privilege that they DO NOT receive due to the color of their skin.
“I grew up in a situation that didn’t involve any privilege and I worked really hard…”
So she’s going to just ignore Australia’s ugly racist history against indigenous Australians (also known as “Aborigines”)?
She clearly doesn’t understand what White Privilege is/means
While she clearly doesn’t understand what White Privilege is, this is the entire quote;
“The whole privilege thing is a rough conversation,” she says. “I understand that in America there is institutionalized racism and there is privilege that comes with the color of your skin. That’s real. I grew up in a situation that didn’t involve any privilege and I worked really hard. A lot of my childhood is overlooked. People assume they know my life because Australia is a nice beautiful country. It’s tough because I want you to acknowledge my work and [to understand] that this wasn’t easy but I also don’t want to detract from or trivialize any people of colors’ position because that’s legitimate.” She gets wound up trying to reason through this. “So it’s like, Where do I fit in that whole conversation? I don’t know.”