powerless nonadjacent: T.I. Welcomes Iggy Azalea To Grand Hustle Family

Thursday, March 1, 2012

T.I. Welcomes Iggy Azalea To Grand Hustle Family

Tip will oversee the recording of the Australian rapper's debut album, The New Classic.
By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Rob Markman

Photo: MTV News

On Wednesday's episode of "RapFix Live," T.I. exclusively announced that he has signed Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth to his Grand Hustle label, but Tip also introduced Australian transplant Iggy Azalea as an official member of his team.

In February, Azalea told MTV News that T.I. reached out to her to establish a working relationship, but T.I. had a slightly different version of the story, telling MTV News just a couple of weeks later that it was Azalea who asked him to be the executive producer of her upcoming debut album, The New Classic. When MTV News finally caught up with both Azalea and T.I. at NBA All-Star Weekend, the straight story came out.

"Tip reached out just to meet me, to say hello, and I found a position for him, conveniently, where he could be used," Azalea explained. "And he was down with it; that's the truth."

Affectionately referring to Azalea as "The Iggamonster," T.I. also added his recollection of their first conversation. "I think her exact words were: 'It's very smart of you to call me because I'm going to be smashing sh-- for quite some time now and no one will be able to breathe if they're not on my team. So it's good that you'll be here, so you'll have oxygen."

"I did say that," Azalea confirmed. "I was like, 'I'm going to be a bushfire that sucks up all the oxygen so nobody can breathe and you might want an oxygen mask.'"

The Australian-born rapper, who released her first mixtape, Ignorant Art, last fall, has set June as a tentative album release. T.I. will serve as the executive producer for the project, guiding her as she pieces the album together.

In addition to working with Azalea and Trae, T.I. also added British rapper Chip (formerly known as Chipmunk) to Grand Hustle Records. It's set to be a big year for the Grand Hustle family.

Are you excited for Iggy Azalea's debut album? Let us know in the comments section below!

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