East Harlem emcee, Kadeem King, calls on the Bronx bomber, Tray Pizzy, to bring us their latest visual for “The New Classic.” Considering the originality and bona-fide style of both emcees on this record, it’s safe to say that New York is sounding like New York again. While many rappers continuously aim for a southern sound, or a formula they think works best, Deemy and Pizzy prove that real music comes from the mecca of hip-hop.

Download “LEADAH” Below

The post Check Out Kadeem King’s Visual “The New Classic” Feat. Tray Pizzy appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Iggy Azalea released the artwork and the tracklist for her reissue LP, Reclassified. The New Classic dropped back in April 2014.  The cover of both projects feature the beautiful blond sporting a tight and colorful body suit, on top of a bright background with her body facing right.

The re-release will include five exclusive tracks. It is set to drop on November 24th but the album with be available on October 25th as a pre-order.

Pre sale for beg for it and (i think) my album repack “reclassified” begins on the 25th.

— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) October 16, 2014

Check out the tracklist below and let us know what you think about this in the comments section!

Tracklist:

01. We In This B*tch (new)
02. Work
03. Change Your Life
04. Beg for It f. Mø (new)
05. Black Widow f. Rita Ora
06. Trouble f. Jennifer Hudson (new)
07. Dont Need Y’all
08. Rolex
09. Iggy SZN (new)
10. Fancy f. Charli XCX
11. Heavy Crown f. Ellie Goulding (new)
12. Bounce

The post Iggy Azalea Adds Color To Your Life With The Artwork & Tracklist For Reissue LP, “Reclassified” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Ever since “Pussy,” Iggy Azalea’s infamous ode to the female sex organ, went viral on YouTube in 2011, fans and haters alike have been clamoring for more from the young artist. But The New Classic, her oft-delayed, debut album, has been a long time coming.

Buzz for The New Classic traces back to December 2011 when the rapper revealed the title of her album during an interview. In early 2012, she hinted at a June release date, but due to record label conflicts, had to postpone the drop until 2013. By June of 2013, The New Classic, though reputedly “almost finished,” had still not been released. She told MTV that it would be out in September, pushed it back to October, and then changed it to March of 2014.   In February, she announced a new release date in April, though there were conflicting rumors as to the exact day it would come out. Some heard it would be the 14^th, others the 15^th, and still others thought maybe the 18^th. Finally, after over two and a half years of misinformation and false hype, The New Classic was released on Monday, April 21^st.

Even without an official album, Iggy has managed to achieve a lot in the last few years. She’s gone on tour with Tyga, Kirko Bangz, NAS and Rita Ora and appeared in a cypher alongside T.I. and B.o.B. at the 2012 B.E.T. Hip Hop Awards. She performed “Blurred Lines” with Robin Thicke at the MTV EMA’s last year and became the first female, non-American rapper to make XXL’s annual Top 10 Freshman list. She dated rapper A$AP Rocky and is currently seeing Lakers’ basketball player, Nick Young. She’s had a very public, often fraught friendship with T.I. who played a role in one of her music videos and performed with her on 106 & Park. She got signed to Wilhelmina Models and became “the new face” of Levi’s Jeans. She’s already toured Europe and has become known for her extravagant, big-budget music videos that have involved elephant rides in Mumbai and a full rendition of the 90’s cult classic, Clueless. She even opened for Beyonce during the singer’s recent Mrs. Carter Show world tour in Australia.

During this time, Iggy also managed to churn out a few mixtapes. Following the 2011 release of Ignorant Art, her first full-length mixtape, she dropped an EP in 2012 called Glory, followed that same year by her starkly different, Diplo-produced mixtape, Trap Gold. Whereas Ignorant Art is all trap and synth, with appearances by Y.G., Problem and Joe Moses, Trap Gold is undeniably Electronic and has only a tenuous hint of its former hip-hop origins. By expanding her repertoire to include genres outside of rap and hip-hop, Iggy was foreshadowing a shift in her musical direction. Yet despite this subtle forewarning, her debut still comes as a bit of a surprise.

The New Classic is not a hip-hop album. It’s a fusion of pop and trap, with club-friendly beats and loads of energy. With its wide range of sounds and fast tempos, The New Classic is like Christmas come early for DJs and is well suited for the club, even without remixes. Guest artists, like Charli XCX, Rita Ora and Mavado, play a vital role because more often than not, Iggy has left the choruses to them, which makes one wonder, is this her album or theirs?

The lead single, “Work,” is easily the best song on the album (and not just because of the lap dance scene in the music video or the twerkability of the beat). Iggy has said that one of her main goals for the album was to use it as a springboard for sharing her story and revealing more about herself and, with “Work,” she did exactly that. We hear about how she juggled multiple jobs and saved money for years so that she could move to the United States at the age of 16. We learn that she was swindled and taken advantage of in her first record deal and get insight into the events that have toughened her up and made her the person she is today. “Work” is a musical autobiography about the Aussie’s life and everything about it—the voice, the lyrics, and the music video—revolves around her.

Though she manages to tell bits and pieces of her story in some of the songs, the rest of the album has little to do with her. The voices that stand out the most tend to be those of the featured artists’, which gives the album a joint effort feel, rather than solo. It’s obvious that Iggy was trying to appeal to a wider audience by making her music more pop and mainstream, but she diluted her own voice in doing so. There are a lot of reasons why her fans love her and her bizarre, hybrid accent is one of them. It’s one of the things that makes her so unique and it’s why her sound is so different from others.

But this is not the case with The New Classic. At times, it’s a musical mess. The transitions from one genre to the next are rough. The choruses don’t complement her raps. The tempo shifts are disruptive and far from seamless. Case in point: “Fancy,” in which singer Charli XCX handles the chorus. It’s actually a pretty good song, but it could have been better. On December 5, 2013, the original, unfinished version of the song, then titled “Leave It,” got leaked online. It’s almost exactly the same as the version that made it on the album (it has the same DJ Mustard beat and Iggy’s lyrics are unchanged), there’s just one difference: the chorus. Iggy is the only singer on “Leave It” and it is she who raps the chorus. But in “Fancy,” the task of covering the chorus is left to Charli XCX, who adds her distinctive ’80s, goth sound to the previously simple, measured beat. In this case, the merging of musical styles works, but the chorus change is still puzzling. “Leave It” is a great song, even without input from other artists, and one in which Iggy really shows off her lyrical talents.  So why change it and ruin a good thing when you have it?

It’s disappointing that Iggy relied so heavily on others—be it their voices or their sound—when making this album. She’s got talent (just listen to her previous work), but sadly there are only glimmers of it here.

The post Album Review: Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Iggy Azalea flashes back to the 90s for her new video “Fancy”. The video’s theme is the movie Clueless, and Iggy does a great job of channeling Cher Horowitz. The video was directed by Director X and it captures a lot of the scenes from the infamous movie.  English singer Charli XCX is featured on the hook to add a little extra spice. Shot in Los Angeles, they even used the original high school from the movie. This track is featured on Iggy‘s upcoming debut album The New Classic, which drops April 14th. Enjoy the video.

The post New Video: Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX – “Fancy” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

While music videos are commonly conceived of as mere promotional tools for songs, they are also artistic vehicles that artists use to express themselves and bring the textures of their songs to life. Sometimes these textures are so rich that the song and music video become inextricable, each always invoking the other. Such is the case for “Bounce,” Iggy Azalea‘s latest single.

Filmed in India and featuring Bollywood dancing as well as elephants, vivid saris, and other memorable images, the video truly brings the song to life. It is unclear whether or not the song was produced with such an affinity for Indian images, but the match up genuinely works. Watch below.

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Iggy Azalea struts her stuff and oozes sexiness in her new video for “Work,” the first single off her debut album The New Classic. The track is fun, energetic, and makes you want to dance so Iggy is definitely off to a great start. She is currently on tour in Europe with Nas so she must be doing something right.

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Iggy Azalea has been busy touring the UK with Rita Ora, but now she’s ready to show the world what she is made of. “Work” is the first single off her upcoming debut album The New Classic. The track has a electronic, dance feel to it but her lyrics are what stand out. The track talks about her struggles to get to where she is now.

“Two feet in the red dirt, school skirt Sugar care, back lanes , Three jobs, took years to save, But I got a ticket on that plane People got a lot to say, But don’t know a thing about where I was made, Or how many floors that I had to scrub, Just to make it past where I am from.”

“Work” is the polar opposite from the type of music she has been putting out, but it sounds like she might be on the right path. Check out the track below. Are you feeling it?

The post New Music: Iggy Azalea – “Work” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.