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Iggy Azalea is not the queen of rap

Iggy Azalea is not the queen of rap.
Iggy Azalea is not the queen of rap.
Iggy Azalea is not the queen of rap.
Christopher Polk/Getty

Correction: An earlier version of this piece mistook the fan account for the real account of Iggy Azalea.

Last night, a Twitter account for an Iggy Azalea fan posted a photo of the Australian rapper, posing with fellow rapper Macklemore, with the caption “the king and queen of rap” — quite a contentious idea.

Iggy Azalea’s hit song “Fancy“ claimed the hallowed ”song of summer” crown earlier this year, spending a solid seven weeks in the no. 1 spot. Azalea also appeared on Ariana Grande’s “Problem” this summer, making her only the fifth female artist to have two singles among the top five songs at the same time, joining Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift. Macklemore, too, has done quite well for himself. At last year’s Grammy awards Macklemore was awarded the Grammy for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best New Artist.

In terms of numbers alone, it’s not totally outrageous to claim that she and Macklemore are the king and queen of rap. This is absurd, however, because chart topping and Grammys aren’t everything, and both Macklemore and Azalea make music that blurs the line between rap and pop. If somebody asked you “Who are the king and queen of rap?” how long would it take you to come up with Iggy and Macklemore? Quite a while, we should think.

The statement is also a complete disregarding of the the decades of history — notably black history — that embody rap and make it what it is today. Most would probably claim that Jay-Z is closer to a “king of rap” than Macklemore is, and that Nicki Minaj or Lil’ Kim would be a better pick for “queen of rap” than Iggy. Or if you want to go old school why not crown Notorious B.I.G. or 2Pac or Eve or MC Lyte.

Thankfully, this is just trolling.

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