Iggy Azalea seems to have taken some cues from Drake on her latest track. “Started” — the second single and introductory track of her upcoming sophomore record, In My Defense — conceptually borrows from the rapper’s “Started from the Bottom,” with Azalea brazenly declaring her superiority to her many detractors, and for good reason. Since her 2014 debut, The New Classic, the Australian transplant has been accused of cultural appropriation and other, somewhat warranted issues; after her public ridicule, however, she has churned out hit after hit, with better flows and more impressive lyrics, allowing her to flex a little on this new drop.
The spiritual successor to lead single “Sally Walker” (“Started” was previewed in the former’s music video), Azalea again takes shots at unidentified nuisances, repeated the line “you started out hatin’, now you love my drip” on the hook. As she makes her way through the song, the rapper boasts her vast riches (“my house is so big, I’m sittin’ on acres and acres/I have never seen my neighbors”) and her exceptional beauty (“I don’t mean to be rude, I’m a ten, you a two”), and includes so many quotable bars that listeners might get dizzy. Flowing all of this over a nagging beat and a bouncy bassline, “Started” is given more breathing room than many of Azalea’s productions, creating an excitement and nuance that could have easily become another unmemorable, braggadocios track that permeates the hip hop community.
Rating: 4.5/5