Photo: REX USA/Erik Pendzich.At this point in the game, we should already know the song of the summer. And, while Pharrell campaigns for his second consecutive summery smash, it's pretty clear that Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" will be crowned. Well, according to Questlove, that is.
"It’s obvious 'Fancy' is pretty much ruling the summer," he told TIME. As to whether he has a problem with Azalea's much-debated cultural appropriation, Questlove comes to her defense — kind of.
"Hip-hop is a contagious culture," he said. "I will say that 'Fancy,' above any song that I’ve ever heard or dealt with, is a game-changer in that fact that we’re truly going to have to come to grips with the fact that hip-hop has spread its wings."
Azalea, the 24-year-old Australian rapper du jour, has come under fire for appropriating southern rap culture. As The Daily Dot put it: "Iggy isn’t the realest." Nicki Minaj recently threw shade and then proceeded to shade the shade, indirectly calling Azalea inauthentic because its rumored she uses ghostwriters. Her lack of "blackness" has polarized some crtics, and Questlove, too, admits he's torn. But, in the end, he's gonna "let Iggy be Iggy."
Hip-hop has, indeed, gotten so big, it's bound to influence a larger audience and more artists than it set out to. Perhaps Azalea will begin to morph her current act with her Australian roots, instead of mimicking another culture. There's no denying her power, though. "Fancy" is the song of the summer; no question about that. (TIME)