Opener Walk The Line is a divine track, slipping from thumping rap production to haunting 'oohs' on the chorus, that showcases Iggy's fierceness and has her singing about the sacrifice of 'home' she made to get where she is. The New Classic is intended to reflect Iggy's personality, her belief and her attitudes to her life and the people around her. Don't Need Y'all is about the fake people who want to know her now that she's 'somebody'. The guy who used to flush your head down the toilet in school is suddenly your best friend sort of situation (not a personal experience).
The album also showcases some typical rap traits. There's no shortage of songs about being rich, successful and having some nice "new shit". When I was planning this review I used '$$$' in my notes to highlight a song that mentioned cash. I counted four. 100 is a guitar led album highlight with a turn from Atlanta musical outfit WatchTheDuck, leading a brilliant chorus. There are plenty standout tracks on The New Classic and Change Your Life is just one. T.I injects his flavour into this bass driven number and Iggy bites "You used to dealing with basic bitches". It's a song about how her status can improve a guy's life and it's vain ridiculously fun. The great thing about the standout tracks is that they never lack fun factor and the quirks that make them memorable reflect Iggy's individual style. Fancy is a mid tempo track featuring Charli XCX and it's bloody brilliant. Again, it's an anthem about success, cash and just being generally amazing. New Bitch keeps this message flowing, "Hop out his new 6/Fresh in some new shit". It's a weaker track and by this point on the album hearing how great it is having lots of money is a bit tiresome and a bit of a kick in the balls.
Work served as a lead single from the album. It's a pumping hip hop jam with a straightforward chorus that sticks. It criticises the girls who give head to reach the top or to be more precise, those girls who give head for cash and Louboutins. She shows us how much she sacrificed in order to pursue her dream as she raps "No money, no family, 16 in the middle of Miami" with the same swagger she maintains throughout the album. This message isn't as impactful on Impossible Is Nothing but the understated production is a nice break from the hard hip hop sounds that came before.
Iggy proves herself to be somewhat of a feminist on Goddess, a feminist rock rap anthem where she demands "Bow down to a Goddess and not one man can stop us". It's a refreshing track, particularly because of its electric guitar riffs and roaring synths. Rita Ora pops in for a cuppa on Black Widow, leading the chorus with strong vocal prowess as she sings "I'm gonna love ya until you hate me". It's an album highlight, more so because of Rita's solid performance, however it does feel like you're waiting for the Stargate production to explode but it never quite goes where you want it to.
The New Classic closes with Lady Patra and Fuck Love. The former is a dancehall flavoured hiphop track and once you've heard the irritating bleeps once you've heard enough. It's not terrible, but compared to the slicker moments on the album it's not as enjoyable. The latter is a hyperactive track, a la Minaj, produced by The Invisible Men (Jessie J/Sugababes). "Fuck love give me diamonds/I'm already in love with myself" she sasses over an array of syths, sirens and jungle drums. It's completely ridiculous but when you've been single as long as I have you can appreciate its sentiment.
Iggy Azalea certainly makes her mark with The New Classic. It's not perfect and at moments it feels contrived and repetitive, but it has enough attitude, sassy raps, brilliant chorus' and complimentary collaborations to make it worth a listen.
3/5
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