I confess I’m not hip to a lot of pop culture– most especially hot new artists in the music world. So when the song “Fancy” started receiving major air time on my local radio station, I thought it was a Nicki Minaj and Gwen Stefani mash-up. Because the rap sections sounded like Nicki to me, and the refrain (“I’m so fancy!”) sounded like Gwen Stefani.

Speaking of Nicki Minaj, my local DJs have been adding to the media noise around her recently-released cover for Anaconda. The world of rap is totally abuzz with this picture–

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most people are either 1.) turned on, or 2.) angry that Nicki Minaj compares herself to Lauryn Hill, and then acts like a pole dancer.

Or something like that.

As far as I’m concerned, Nicki has a right to use her body however she wants to. If she decides to take a picture of herself in a pink thong to sell her music, so be it. The image is new, but the general theme of women utilizing their physical assets to sell their music is not.

But back to this “Fancy” song.

Which is not a Nicki Minaj-Gwen Stefani mash-up.

It’s actually being rapped by this woman–

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iggy Azalea.

Real name: Amethyst Amelia Kelly. (Beautiful name, huh? I love it. Her stage name is badass as well.)

She was born June 7, 1990, which makes her a whopping 24 years old. Originally from Australia, Iggy Azalea started rapping at 14, dropped out of high school, and moved to the United States at the age of 16 (by herself) to pursue a career in hip hop music. She lived in Miami and other parts of the south, and gained recognition when her extremely explicit rap songs “Pu$$y” and “Two Times” went viral on YouTube.

She’s extremely driven. And, like Nicki, her derrière is uber-famous. Iggy Azalea works as a model now, as well as making use of her talents as a songwriter and rapper.

The refrain in “Fancy” is sung by this gal, Charli XCX–

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the music video, these two women pay homage to the film Clueless. The music video is a high-production recreation of memorable moments from the movie–

Just be warned that this is rap, and the word “explicit” is there in the title description.

Also, this is the first time I’ve ever embedded a video link into my blog, which I am super excited about!!!!!

I feel like such a smartie now!!!

But back to Iggy Azalea. And the whole reason I wanted to blog about her today.

There are really funny parodies of “Fancy,” and more keep being made every day.

This one — “I’m So Married” — is my favorite–

I just get such a kick out of the visuals and lyrics to this one, mostly because I reflect on the inherent absurdities of modern middle-class life that this music video makes use of.

“I’m the B-O-double-S, put my name in bold, For every strong man, a stronger woman I’m told” — I mean, there are just some really hilarious, really great rap lines in this parody.

Granted, I didn’t eat frozen wedding cake a year after my ceremony, I didn’t announce my marriage on Facebook, I didn’t change my last name so “all the boys would know” — and my husband doesn’t leave up the toilet seat, nor does he read on the toilet, et cetera, et cetera — but I still feel myself laughing all over when I watch this video. By “laughing all over” I mean the bubbly sort of happiness that hits your system like fizz, so you forget you’re sitting in a chair looking at a computer screen, you’re just feeling fizzy instead.

Iggy Azalea watches these parodies, too, and her favorite one is “I’m So Pregnant”–

This music video is certainly funny, with a lot of truth in it (“Who dat, who dat, Pre-G-G-O”) but I just personally like “I’m So Married” the best.

These videos inspired me to learn how to embed links on my page, made me laugh, and I learned more about a new rapper in the hip hop scene.

Reflecting on rap today, I am so, so glad I don’t have to put on a thong and take near-nude photos of myself to sell my novels.

Plus, I don’t have to twerk.

*sigh of relief*

Cause I just wasn’t cut out for thong photos and twerking. Dressing up as Wonder Woman to promote literacy? Sure, I can manage that. Passing out postcards with my book covers on them? No prob.

Pretending I’m a pole dancer for an album cover? Twerking on stage? Rapping a song about comparing my lady parts (“taste the rainbow”) to Skittles — ? Um, yeah. Not for me.

But isn’t it fascinating that people do this stuff? To make money, or just to have fun? I find it so incredibly delightful that there is no end to art. To silliness. To goofball sex. Cause that’s what all three of these videos (and the Nicki Minaj cover) say to me– that sex is truly a very goofy thing. Especially when it’s in the hands of women using it for their own purposes. Cause women are running the show in all of these examples. And that’s pretty cool.