A Complete Guide to Iggy Azalea’s Descent

By Sameer Rao Jun 01, 2015

Only a year ago, Iggy Azalea was on top of the pop world with the summer smash “Fancy.” Now, she’s cancelled an already-rescheduled arena tour. A lot has happened in the middle to turn this Austrailian pop-rap sensation into the music industry’s main hate-watch spectacle—a story that’s been played out repeatedly across the Internet, including on this website.

But where did it all begin? Cosmopolitan put together a useful timeline of Azalea’s turbulent career that starts with her debut single, 2011’s controversial “Pu$$y,” and catalogues her seemingly-endless history of Twitter beef, blatant ignorance, and head-scratching rhymes. 

Here are a few of the piece’s most notable highlights (all quotes and screencaps from Cosmo): 

September 2011: Iggy releases her debut mixtape "Ignorant Art," led by a track called "D.R.U.G.S." It uses the same instrumental as Kendrick Lamar’s "Look Out for Detox." In the lyrics, Iggy makes a reference to Kendrick’s track with the line, "When the relay starts, I’m a runaway slave … master / Shittin’ on the past gotta spit it like a pastor.

June 2013: Rumors of racism return, as old tweets from Iggy resurface.

 

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Iggy comes to her own defense:

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So for those who didn’t know, the anti-Iggy backlash has deep, deep roots. Click here to see the full timeline.