Sarah Hardin
The Open
Road
It's Not All Black and White
Just to be clear, Iggy Azalea is not your typical rapper. She is a white, Australian, female rapper who has managed to establish herself in the rap and hip hop industries- music genres that are typically performed by African American males. Iggy Azalea’s rise to fame came through her song “Fancy” which stayed at the No. 1 spot on the billboard charts for seven straight weeks. Many people thought that Iggy was a black female rapper when they first heard her rap in “Fancy”. So, first time viewers of Iggy’s music video for “Fancy” were dumbfounded when they discovered that Iggy was, in fact, white. Comments like “how come she’s rapping like she’s from the ghetto or something”, “I don’t know if Iggy Azalea is black or white. Her voice is black but her skin is white”, and “Iggy Azalea is such a wannabe YOU’RE WHITE!!!!! lol” covered Twitter and Youtube. Reactions like these to something as simple as skin color makes one wonder what makes a person “black or “white”? What makes someone ghetto? While skin color can physically determine what race you are, “black” and “white” have turned into cultures rather than just races. In the past, “ghetto” was a term to describe a place where people lived that was poor and run-down, but the term “ghetto” has turned into a culture as well. These “black” and “white”, “ghetto” and “high class” cultures create barriers and stereotypes that limit the behavior, dress, and dialect of people within a certain culture. Iggy Azalea’s song and music video for “Fancy” has managed to break through many of these stereotypes and barriers.
All over the Internet, there are videos, memes, gifs, articles, etc. that highlight the stereotypical differences between the behavior of white and black people. Some of the stereotypes include that black people live in the “ghetto” or rougher areas of town and white people live in the rich suburbs, black people talk with a lot of street slang and white people talk either proper or like a California girl (also a stereotype, I know), black people can dance really well and really dirty while white people have two left feet, and white girls twirl their hair a lot and black girls flip their weave off their shoulders. The music video for “Fancy” refuted and fulfilled many of these behavior stereotypes by basing the music video off the 1995 film Clueless. Doing so was a major rhetorical choice that set the tone for the entire video. The main character of Clueless, Cher, is a rich, fancy, white teenager who has a best friend named Dionne who is rich, fancy, and black. Cher fulfills many of the stereotypes for white girls. She wears preppy outfits, uses words like “sporadically”, and lives in Beverly Hills. In the music video, Iggy plays Cher, but she puts a different spin on her. She dances dirtier, she wears less preppy clothes, and flips her hair rather than twirls it. While Iggy refutes “white” stereotypes, the actress who plays Dionne in the music video also refutes “black” stereotypes. She twirls her hair, waves her hands at her face when she freaks out, and wears preppy outfits. Iggy behaved more “black” than the actress who played Dionne did. In fact, all the other girls in the music video twirled their hair while Iggy was the only one who flipped her hair. It’s not that “white” girls never flip their hair, but the fact that every other girl twirled their hair while Iggy flipped hers distinguishes her as less “white.” It’s a small difference, but little differences in gestures and facial expressions throughout the music video caused Iggy to appear less “white” and more “black,” thus refuting behavior stereotypes about white and black people.
Iggy’s “Fancy” depicts being "fancy" as very different than what was depicted in Clueless. Clueless depicted fanciness and high class through expensive cars, large houses with “columns that date all the way back to 1972”, servants, a large wardrobe, and a large vocabulary. Cher only went to certain areas of town in the movie, and she though high school boys were beneath her. Being” fancy” in the Clueless world meant acting snooty and high class. However, the lyrics and music video for “Fancy” depict fanciness as dancing provocatively, partying hard, owning gold and money, and drinking lots of expensive liquor. This depiction of being “fancy” is less refined than the Clueless world that Cher lives in. One could even say it is a little “ghetto” due to the slang used and the hard partying aspect. By combining two ends of the wealth spectrum together into one video, Iggy refutes stereotypes of being “ghetto” and “high class” while also making a fun music video.
The lyrics in “Fancy” use so much slang that it can be difficult to understand what Iggy is trying to say if you don’t speak street slang. Luckily, Jimmy Kimmel and Iggy translated some of her lyrics. After translating the lyrics with the help of Jimmy Kimmel and rap.genius.com, one can find the meaning of the song. Phrases like “something worth half a ticket on my wrist” and “gold trigger on the gun” should not be taken at face value. The overall meaning of the song is that Iggy has gained a lot of money through her fame as a rapper so she can afford a rich lifestyle. This lifestyle includes things like owning expensive jewelry, drinking a lot, partying, and just having lots of money. The lyrics also discuss Iggy’s rapping skills and how she is beating the competition with style. So why didn’t Iggy just say that? Why didn’t she make the lyrics more understandable for people who don’t know rap or street slang? If Iggy had compromised her rap so all audiences could understand her, she would have lost her authenticity as a rapper. The use of slang in “Fancy” works as an appeal to ethos for her audience. It not only proves that Iggy can rap, but it proves that white people can rap and use slang. The use of slang refutes stereotypes that white people, more specifically white women cannot rap.
“Fancy” can seem egocentric and arrogant when you listen to the lyrics. The entire song is about Iggy proving that she is fancy and rich and how she is better than other people. She spells her own name about seven different times and tells people that they already know she’s fancy. As conceited as it all may seem, the self-centered lyrics are necessary. “Fancy” was Iggy’s debut song in the United States. She had to tell people who she was and make a name for herself. As a white female rapper, she couldn’t come in with just any song. She had to come across as a self-confident rapper who knows what she’s doing. So, the self-centered lyrics serve as another appeal to ethos that establishes Iggy’s authenticity as a rapper, even if she doesn’t look like a typical rapper.
The music industry and society in general still have many racial barriers and stereotypes, the walls are gradually being broken down. For example, Darius Rucker, a black singer from Hootie & the Blowfish, has “gone country” and gained a large amount of fame in the country music industry. While he remains one of the few non-white singers in the industry, he has opened up the gate for more diversity in country music. Music is something that unites people based on how something sounds rather than how it appears. Two people from very different cultures can still connect with each other through a song that they both like or an artist they are a fan of.So, if musicians like Iggy Azalea and Darius Rucker continue to become popular, we can break down the barriers put up by stereotypes until an Australian, white, female rapper is your typical rapper.
Jimmy Kimmel and Iggy Azalea translate "Fancy"
Former rock star, Darius Rucker, has "gone country"
However, Iggy’s choice to base her music video off Clueless could have harmed her authenticity as a “true rapper.” Most hip-hop/rap videos from well-known artists like Jay-Z have darker elements, black and white montages, and an overall serious tone. Iggy’s interpretation of Clueless in “Fancy” is a light hearted, colorful, and funny parody of the movie. This unconventional rap music video could have contributed to other aspects questioning Iggy’s rapping skills. Nicki Minaj allegedly claimed that Iggy Azalea didn’t actually write her own raps. As stated before, critics on the Internet believe she is a “wannabe.” Yet, “Fancy” has more than 192 million views on Youtube, so it seems like Iggy has done something right. Iggy says that she based the music video off Clueless because she thought it would be unexpected. “Fancy” has a West Coast sound to it, but she didn’t want a music video with “low rider cars and palm trees” like a typical West Coast hip-hop/ rap video would have done. Iggy claims she didn’t want to do “something that was cliché” because that’s not her. She’s taking risks as a new rapper, yet staying true to herself which could work out for her in the end and serve to revolutionize rap and hip hop.
Comparison of "Fancy" and Clueless tennis court scenes
Hallway scene from "Fancy"
Hallway scene from Clueless
Cher acting snooty in Clueless
Iggy Azalea acting egotistic in "Fancy"
