By Chichi Nalin
T.I. helped Iggy Azalea get her big break, but the artists have since had a falling out.
Rapper Iggy Azalea is as famous for her music as she is for her private life. The Black Widow performer is no stranger to controversy, she's been involved in numerous beefs over the years. One such beef was with her former mentor, T.I. AKA Tip, their dispute eventually severed their professional relationship. T.I. called Iggy a blunder, she in turn called him a misogynist, and a heated war of words ensued between the duo.
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Iggy's rise to the top raised several questions. The polarizing rapper wasn't well received by the public. From accusations of her using ghostwriters to her "made-up" accent, she became the butt of internet jokes. She's also been accused of blackfishing, yet another reason why critics drag her all over social media.
Through it all, T.I. supported and defended her on various occasions… until he didn't. When the pair parted ways, social media weighed in and anticipated the end of Iggy's career. This was owing to the fact that many people attributed her success to T.I.'s input.
T.I. Helped Iggy Get Her Big Break
When Iggy Azalea burst onto the scene, she was signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle label. The two also collaborated on some music. She was a newcomer with catchy beats and an interesting aesthetic (though her appearance has changed even more over the years). In 2014, Iggy won a VMA for favorite rap/hip-hop album and best rap artist.
Despite making those strides, some fans couldn't get over her persona. She was accused of faking her accent and attempting to sound a certain way to appeal to hip-hop fans.
T.I. wasn't having any of that, he stood by his artist. He told Hard Knock TV, "She has a vision for herself, that she will not compromise, she has a certain idea of how she wants to present herself and how to platform her art. I think she should be judged based on that rather than her cred, her nationality, what country she is from … I think all of that, those are stereotypes."
He believed in her potential, "When you start trying to classify people in different categories, then you diminish the purpose of what we do. What we do is try to bring people together … I think she can go in a lot of different genres because she’s cross-pollinated."
Iggy And Tip's Relationship Soured
Azalea was involved in a number of feuds with other celebrities. From Azealia Banks and Snoop Dogg to Eminem. Amidst the cultural appropriation allegations against Iggy, rap legend Q-Tip took to Twitter to give Iggy a hip-hop history lesson.
She didn't seem to appreciate that and responded in a manner that many deemed disrespectful.
Although T.I. defended his protégée against Q-Tip and anybody who dared to speak against her, he later changed his tune, and that marked the end of their partnership.
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According to The Root, he revealed, "I'm still actively looking for another female rapper who can undo the blunder of Iggy Azalea. That is the tarnish of my legacy as far as [being] a [music] executive is concerned. To me, this is like when Michael Jordan went to play baseball."
In return, the Australian rapper fired off a series of now-deleted Tweets, where she called her former mentor a "misogynist" and asked him to move on. The former collaborators didn't hold back during their war of words.
T.I. Accused Azalea Of Switching Up
As if calling her a blunder wasn't enough, Tip later elaborated on his earlier sentiments about Iggy. Some fans had often spoken about how the Fancy rapper's persona would affect T.I.'s image and brand.
It seems he agreed with this assertion after parting ways with his protégée and had no problem speaking about it.
Per T.I., Iggy Azalea started acting differently after earning her place in hip-hop and made decisions that impacted his reputation.
During an appearance on The breakfast club, the rapper dished on why he parted ways with Iggy. He revealed, "I feel like she was meant to be great. As far as I'm concerned, I feel like when she found out white people liked her, and she didn't really need black people to like her anymore, she switched up."
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He went on to say, "Started acting different, made moves that I wasn't proud of, that kind of placed my reputation in the line of fire. And she was very arrogant about it… The raps were dope at first, you know what I mean? Of course, she had…help."
"It was dope at first, and then she exposed herself so much, and I feel like it just kinda—it undid all the good that was done."
