The New Classic review – 'above-par surprises' from Iggy Azalea

"I was wide awake/Got slept on," huffs rapper Iggy Azalea on Walk the Line, the opener on her much-delayed debut album. The Australian first surfaced in 2011, gracing the cover of hip-hop bible XXL in 2012; last year, her persuasive single Work seemed to signal a full-length. A year later, The New Classic doesn't feel tardy. Granted, Azalea is the most lurid sort of pop rapper, dropping labels, shedding outerwear and dripping attitude, and songs like New Bitch, in which she upbraids her man's old girlfriend, won't endear her to some. But Azalea's flow is both playful and authoritative, and above-par surprises unfurl on the productions – there are stuttering digital guitars on 100, and a deranged percussive workout on Fuck Love.