S. Samuel
Grand Hustle's Iggy Azalea has stepped forward to clear the air on boss T.I. breaking the news that she isn't an Interscope Records signee, despite past statements about her relationshipto the renowned company.
According to Iggy, she is indeed a “free agent” but still has a business arrangement with Interscope.
“I wasn’t dropped by Interscope,” Iggy told XXL moments after her performance in front of a sold-out crowd at SOBs in New York City on Thursday night (May 7). “I’m still managed by [Interscope], but when T.I. came on board and it became a Grand Hustle thing. We were working on restructuring and we worked down to the final deal. There’s things that change when other people get involved. For me, I choose my involvement with Tip because that’s my family over other things, so I’m thankful that I have him and he can kinda get me out of that situation; now it’s just strictly Grand Hustle.” (XXL Mag)
She also said, in light of their amicable split, there are no hard feelings.
“This has been this way for about two months now. Me or Interscope didn’t really feel it was necessary to speak on it because we have a great relationship still. Everyone in that building is my friend and there’s a mutual respect there and nobody wants to do anything that makes anyone feel uncomfortable about anything else. There’s no bad blood between me and Interscope of course, they still manage me. So they play a big part in my career; but I can’t sign something that I don’t feel, you know, is 100% right. So I did what was best for me and they did what was best for them business-wise.” (XXL Mag)
Earlier this week, Tip broke the news of Iggy’s Interscope deal falling through.
Iggy Azalea announced that she had signed a deal with Interscope Records earlier this year, but it may have been premature. According to her Grand Hustle boss T.I., the Aussie rapper is still unsigned. “Iggy is a free agent,” Tip told Bu Thiam, VP of A&R at Def Jam, on “MTV’s Hip Hop POV.” The blonde bombshell had touted a deal with Interscope and a summer release for her debut album The New Classic. “Interscope, if you were wondering,” she tweeted in January. “Get used to me + jimmy [iovine] smashing sh*t, cause thats the plan.” According to sources, a deal was never actually in place. However, she did release the T.I.-assisted “Murda Bizness,” which was billed as the lead single off the album. The Hustle Gang member is currently in talks with other labels including Def Jam. Her EP Glory is due this month. (Rap-Up)
In mid-April, she talked about re-structuring her Interscope agreement to join Tip’s Grand Hustle family.
“I didn’t know I was gonna sign to Grand Hustle,” Azalea told MTV News, explaining how she managed to stick with both imprints. “There’s no way I thought that would happen. Not because I didn’t like them, just because my deal was all sewn up, and I restructured the whole thing.” The 21-year-old Australian rapper revealed that Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine was “cool with it,” helping her tailor a new deal that pleased all parties involved. “[Jimmy] likes Tip, and they’re good friends, so it worked out,” she explained. “But it made everybody so confused, because everyone was like, ‘I thought she was signed to Interscope; Grand Hustle is with Atlantic.'” (MTV)
Check out T.I. recently speaking on Iggy Azalea below:
