Welcome back to another CDS Music Chart album review! Today I will be reviewing Iggy Azalea's debut studio album "The New Classic". Preceded by the release of 4 official singles, "The New Classic" will arrive on April 22nd, 2014. The album's lead single, "Work", was internationally released on March 17th, 2013. Its highest peak (excluding genre specific charts) was #11 in Belgium. It also reached #17 in the UK and #18 in Scotland. The album's follow up release, "Bounce", was released to every major market expect North America and peaked at #10 in Scotland and #13 in the UK. "Change Your Life (feat. T.I.)" was released as the album's 2nd North American single and 3rd single in all other markets. First released as a download in the United States on September 12th, 2013, the track eventually reached all digital and radio markets by October. It reached #10 in the UK, #12 in Scotland and #28 in Ireland. The album's 4th single (and most successful by far), "Fancy", featured Charli XCX. It reached #19 in the Iggy's home country Australia, while obtaining top 10 positions in 3 countries (non genre based). It has so far peaked at #56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (her first entry), while it has peaked at #27 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 so far. A 5th single, "Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)", is planned for release in May 2014. "Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)" ranks at #27 this week on the CDS Music Chart's Bubbling Under the Hot 50. That's equivalent to #77, though no points are awarded for tracks below #50.1. "Walk the Line"
This track introduces the life of Iggy. Your average blond Australian immigrant. Or so you think. Supported by speedily rapped verses and calm smooth vocal choruses, "Walk the Line" details the struggles Azalea has faced in trying to rise to prominence both locally (her adopted US and Australia) and internationally (where, coincidentally she has had most of her success). It calls out haters, people who told her she would never make it and all the other individuals in between. She's finally got an album out and she has now proved that she has pulled through what people said she could never get out of.
2. "Don't Need Y'all"
Simple song; strong message. In this track, Iggy again chooses to avoid explicit lyrics but gets out a strong and vidid portrait of her feelings toward the critics. While "Walk the Line" focused on everyone who hated on her, "Don't Need Y'all" strives to scratch the untarnished music critics that act like they created her (when they previously hated her). In my opinion that's a really ballsy thing to do, and I admire her for being able to keep it classy yet direct. It's repetitive, but this track is so soothing anyway, you'll hardly notice. It also features a single sampled line from her debut track "Work" (see if you notice when you listen to it).
3. "100 (feat. Watch the Duck)"
The added vocals from Watch the Duck on this track help smooth out the record, in the first of 5 consecutive tracks that contain explicit content. "100" showcases silkier guest vocals to balance the sharp spitting nails that are provided by Iggy Azalea. It's no longer a hip-hop track. It's an epic crossover that nails it nearly perfectly. It's smooth, fresh, snappy and classy, but is it smooth enough? While the calmer vocals attempt to drown out the lines, it doesn't quite flow the way it should. Something is not quite right, but hey congratulations on being behind an exquisite track featuring money matters and one hell of a guest artist.
4. "Change Your Life (feat. T.I.)"
About 75% of the people who are going to buy "The New Classic" in opening week have already heard this unique track. After leaving a label headed by T.I., Azalea (determined not to sour their relationship) invited her previous mentor (and voice behind multiple US #1 singles) to feature on what would become the 3rd single from "The New Classic". Creatively, the track is a huge departure from her past hip-hop offerings, in the fact that it features the female rapper singing for the first time. Lyrically, the track speaks of Iggy rising from nothing and becoming starstruck in her new and improved world. Vocally speaking... that's a whole other story. While her vocals aren't bad per say, they have a Ke$ha-like quality this time around (mainly the rapping not the singing). Whether you think that's good or bad... I'll leave that up to you.
5. "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)"
And we come to it. Every album has one; the best track included. This sharp shooting pop/hip-hop club anthem nods toward the "glam life" while including everything you would ever need all at once. The track includes hip-hop rapping, singing, attitude, sass, style and a clubby, feel-good beat. There is no way that anything else this unique exists at all anywhere within the music world.
6. "New Bitch"
Okay, Iggy has already come and done the singing thing. On "New Bitch", she seems overly worried on how to expand her already vast fan base by adding small and unnecessary bits of overcooked, auto tuned vocals that aren't pleasant to listen to. It's ironic because this track would have been so much better without the singing. I mean... why is he pretending to be something that she isn't? She doesn't seem very comfortable with singing anyway, so I don't understand why she is doing it. Hopefully she will realize soon that she doesn't have to cater to audiences that aren't interested in solely hip-hop material.
7. "Work"
Paying homage to Iggy coming to the United States at the young age of 16 to work in the modeling industry (later the music industry), "Work" talks about the struggles of making it in her new world and how she finally got to where she is now. "Work" is an arranged track compiled of pieces of bold sounding hip-hop, electronic and trap music. This song swirls all 3 of those major concepts into one remarkably fresh track that has the potential to overtake a huge and unsuspecting audience. One reviewer went as far as to say that the track was "a mix of Ke$ha, Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga". While I wouldn't exactly agree with that statement, I can see where this idea was stemming from.
8. "Impossible Is Nothing"
Here's the 3rd track to feature Iggy singing. It's not nearly on the same level as "Change Your Life", but it is a noticeable step up from "New Bitch". Then yet again, "Impossible Is Nothing" doesn't fit the puzzle that this album is shaping up to be. It's flawed, but in a way that is almost indescribable. It's lyrical intentions are strong (the song itself is really just about never giving up), but it dozen't feel quite compatible or polished.
9. "Goddess"
Azalea brings back the grunge and pure split nails displayed on the disc's earlier tracks, but in a more haunting and eerie way. Unfortunately, "Goddess" (while displaying emotion), lacks creativity. Essentially, it is a version of "***Flawless" by Beyoncé reimagined in a simpler, hip-hop oriented way. That may not be a bad thing, but Beyoncé generated lots of buzz with her track (first leaked as "Bow Down/I Been On"). That suggests that everyone is going to be pointing a lot of fingers for this track.
10. "Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)"
Iggy has started to realize that a female vocalist companion (in this case Rita Ora) mixed with an addictive and mysterious beat is the way to crank out the hits. "Black Widow", lyrically, is a huge step up from other tracks on the album. Surprisingly, some of the that can be attributed to the fact that Katy Perry (one of the largest female pop artists) helped contribute to the lyrics on this track. The poisonous rhymes from Azalea, mixed with the slightly sweetened chorus delivered by Ora, work well to make a potion that borders the trap, rap, pop and dance/electronic genres. It's basically a more unique version of "Dark Horse" with a hip-hop lead and a pop backing, directly opposite of the original.
11. "Lady Patra (feat. Mavado)"
The rough edges don't stop. Iggy returns for another hardly polished track, spitting names of famous artists that rhyme with the phrase "lady patra". It's hard to tell if she's referencing reggae dancehall artist Patra (previously known as Lady Patra) from Jamaica, but I guess that would be a reasonable guess. The track is a little bit rusty and the featured artist (Mavado) arrives in a very Sean Paul-esque manner. To be honest I thought only one rapper sounded like that. Oh well.
12. "F**k Love"
Okay finally. A pure hip-hop offering that strikes the right notes AND (most importantly) strikes in a really creative zone. While it samples a few lines from various successful songs, they were pieced together just right to sound both fresh and entertaining. Described as Iggy's favorite track from the entire record, "F**k Love" is a unique and refreshing piece that might eventually see release as a single to US urban radio.
13. "Bounce"
This track certainly has a 'bouncy' beat to it. "Bounce" is intertwined with cut and chopped, screwed, and slightly auto tuned vocals. It is actually a highlight from the album (though most of you Iggy Azalea fans had heard it prior to the release of "The New Classic"), and it is a little unfortunate that it only made the deluxe edition of the album, failing to be included in the mass produced standard version that consists of the first 12 tracks.
14. "Rolex"
Wow. This one is really hard to explain. It's not unbelievable but it is a very respectable album track that could have easily replaced a standard edition song. "Rolex" has an epic thumping beat and a more mellow sound that feels fresh and deserving. It has some serious potential and is an instant favorite.
Rating: 79% (C+)
Update: I added an additional 3% to the album's score because I enjoyed the album's two bonus tracks from Best Buy (Remixes of "Fancy" and "Change Your Life").
Overview: "The New Classic" is a respectable debut studio packaging wrapped with electronic noises, trap elements and exquisite features. Unfortunately, when you unravel all the goodness in it, you're left with some underwhelming offerings. Lyrically the album strives to be original, but repetitive lines and themes used throughout heavily downgrade the quality of the lines. Creativity wise, the album is mixed. Several songs are genius, though some feel like mashups of random work compiled into a vaguely familiar mess. With that being said, the production throughout the album remained fairly solid. Incorporating electronic, trap and pop genres into a hip-hop album is gutsy but it worked extremely well in this case. Additionally, the features from Watch the Duck, Charli XCX and Rita Ora made the record full of passion and life. The tracks that those artists feature on ("100", "Fancy" and "Black Widow" respectively) are among my favorites on the album. With that being said, Iggy only tracks "Work", "Bounce" and "Walk the Line" are also among the best offerings. In summary, Iggy made a debut worth my while (with some crazy, wacky ideas) but she isn't there yet. She isn't in top form, but I think she has the potential to eventually change the hip-hop game.
What do you think of "The New Classic"?
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