Iggy Azalea (born Amethyst in 1990) is an Australian songwriter and rapper. Azalea started rapping at 14 and moved to the United States of America in 2006. As of November 2011, she is managed by Interscope Records' George Robertson and Neil Jacobson but still unsigned officially. She is perhaps better known for her promotional songs "Pu$$y" and "My World" whose music videos went viral on YouTube. Her debut studio album "The New Classic" was released in 2012.

Iggy Azalea was born in Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia and moved to Miami, Florida, USA right before she turned 16 years old to pursue her music career. She told her parents she was going "on a holiday" with a friend but eventually decided to stay and told them she was not coming back home shortly after. Her father was a comic artist and painter and her mother cleaned holiday houses and hotels. Azalea says her father "made her look at [art] as a teenager" which has always influenced her life and work. "I was drawn to America because I felt like an outsider in my own country, I was in love with hip-hop, and America is the birthplace of that, so I figured the closer I was to the music, the happier I'd be. I was right."

Her birth name is Amethyst (she hasn't disclosed her last name) but she started using a stage name, Iggy Azalea, after moving to the United States. Iggy Azalea was the name of her family's dog while growing up. She has also lived in Atlanta before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. Azalea didn't graduate from high school because she'd rather earn and save money by cleaning with her mother to pursue her desire of moving to America.

After moving to the United States, staying in Miami and a brief stint in Houston, Azalea settled for a few years in Atlanta, and eventually in Los Angeles, where she currently resides since 2010.

She started rapping at the age of 14 but was obsessed with rap from age 11 when she heard "Baby Don't Cry". She also regularly mentions her early influence by Tupac in her interviews, "I was sickly obsessed. I had every picture of Tupac ever printed on my wall". Azalea also draws and paints as an hobby. She also mentions Andre 3000, Kanye West, Gwen Stefani and Grace Kelly as some of her inspirations.

In 2011, Iggy Azalea started uploading several freestyle videos that went viral on YouTube. In early September, Perez Hilton discovered and posted her first music video "Pu$$y". The visuals, featuring Iggy and friends suggestively slurping ice creams, were filmed in the territory of street gang Rollin 60s.

She's currently managed by George Robertson and Neil Jacobson from Interscope Records, but hasn't officially announced signing a deal with a record label yet.

On September 27, 2011, Azalea released her first free mixtape, "Ignorant Art", saying she made it "with the intent to make people question and redefine old ideals" . She performed live in her first shows ever on October in New York City, as a part of the CMJ Music Festival and Perez Hilton's "One Night In…" concert series, alongside Mary J Blige and Boyz II Men.

In November 2011, she released a music video for another promotional song "My World" featuring a cameo from character actor and former wrestler Tiny Lister, which earned her more attention due to its rising popularity online. "It's supposed to have like, all the ridiculousness of a big-budget '90s video, but then chopped and screwed," Azalea explains.

She is currently working with rapper YG on another mixtape entitled "1990″. Azalea has also mentioned on Twitter that she will be starting her first tour in the beginning of the year of 2012.

Azalea revealed in December that she will be releasing her debut album, "The New Classic", in the first quarter of 2012. She also said she will be signing a record label deal soon and "once thats sorted out and I establish an over all sound and direction for the album I will be able to know what artists would make for a dynamic collaboration".

2013–present: The New Classic

In January and February 2013, while working on her upcoming singles and The New Classic, which was announced to be released in the summer, Azalea was the opening act for Rita Ora's Radioactive Tour, in the United Kingdom. As part of her set for Ora's Radioactive Tour, Azalea premiered "Work", the lead single from her debut studio album. The single premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra on 11 February 2013. On 13 February 2013, it was announced Azalea had signed a record deal withMercury Records. The music video for her commercial debut single "Work", was directed by Jonas & François and released 13 March 2013. In March 2013, Azalea also joined renowned East Coast rapper Nas, on the European leg of his 'Life Is Good Tour'. On 15 April 2013, VEVO announced Azalea as its second LIFT artist of 2013 and that she would film live festival performances, fashion and style pieces and behind-the-scenes interviews as part of the eight-week-long campaign. It was also revealed that the music video for her second single "Bounce", would premiere on VEVO at the end of the month. On 16 March 2013, it was announced that Azalea would perform in the beneficent concert "Chime for Change", scheduled to take place on 1 June in London, alongside Beyoncé, John Legend and others. On 23 April 2013, Azalea announced that she had signed a solo record deal with Island Def Jam. On 26 April 2013, Azalea's second European single "Bounce", premiered on BBC Radio 1. Azalea then revealed, that the second American and third international single taken from her debut album would be entitled "Change Your Life", and features T.I.. She also mentioned she would be singing for the first time on the record. She also confirmed that she is not signed to Grand Hustle Records, however heavily affiliated with the label.

On 25 May 2013, Azalea as part of Radio 1's Big Weekend in Derry, performed an acclaimed carnival themed set on the In New Music We Trust stage. The setlist contained songs from previous EP's and album material such as "Bounce" and "Work". The show was the start of a short set of UK pre-album promotional appearances. In June 2013, Azalea confirmed that the album was nearly finished and that it's slated for release in September 2013. On 29 July 2013, Azalea revealed she will be opening for Beyoncé on the 17-date Australasia leg of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in October and November. The third single from The New Classic, titled "Change Your Life", was premiered by BBC Radio 1Xtra's MistaJam, on 19 August 2013. On 3 October 2013, Azalea made her first appearance on BET's 106 & Park, where she was interviewed and performed "Change Your Life", alongside T.I. Azalea's debut album was slated for an October release but in an interview with Australia's Herald Sun, she revealed due to other commitments such as supporting Beyoncé on her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour her record label would not allow her to release The New Classic until March 2014. She said: "The official date? Fucked if I know! It's done, it's so depressing to say this but it's the beginning of March, it's so far away but I just have to accept that." She explained the reasons behind the delay: "It was supposed to be October but obviously I'm going on tour with Beyoncé and they said I'm not allowed to put an album out while I'm on tour because I'll be trapped in Australia and I won't be able to do any TV appearances and I thought that's fair enough, that's three weeks and then they said 'You can't put an album out around Christmas time, that's a bad time' and I said 'What about January?' 'Well nobody gets back off holidays and then it's the BRIT Awards, you can't release an album, it's terrible for marketing' which brings me to February." On 10 November, Azalea performed "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards. The New Classic is expected to be released on 14 April 2014.