T.I. has an ear for talent. The Hustle Gang chief, who signed B.o.B and Travi$ Scott, knew he was onto something big when he discovered a blonde Australian rapper named Iggy Azalea. Since then, Iggy has taken over the charts and become a global sensation, but Tip always saw it coming.
“As soon as I seen her, I seen it,” he told Rap-Up TV of his “Fancy” protégée.
He offers her advice, but she doesn’t always take it. “She has an incredible vision for herself,” said Tip. “She sees things that none of us can see. At the end of the day, the final say will lie in what Iggy Azalea feels is appropriate for her legacy.”
While she has experienced some bumps along the way, T.I. has been impressed with the way she’s been dealing with her newfound fame. “All in all, I think she’s handling herself like a G just simply because she’s not jumping off the Empire State Building,” he said. “With the amount of pressure being put on her, the amount of demands, and all the different directions she’s being pulled so many times a day, I think she’s handling herself very well and staying grounded and true to who she is.”
She’s been pitted against Nicki Minaj, but Tip says there’s no real beef, and even left the door open to a collaboration.
“That is something that me and Lil Wayne, we maybe could broker,” he said. “If Nicki agrees to it, I would definitely massage the ears of my young Azalean. She never had a real problem with Nicki. I think it’s just a female competition thing. And I don’t even think Nicki really, really has a problem with Iggy. I think they’re both like, ‘There’s only enough room for one bad bitch at a time.’ I think it’s more that than someone genuinely not liking someone else.”
While he works on bringing the ladies together, he is also trying to put together a Hustle Gang tour. “I’m trying to work on a B.o.B, T.I., Iggy Azalea, Travi$ Scott—I’m trying to do a Hustle Gang tour,” he said. “It’s very ambitious. We’ll see.”
Previous: T.I. Talks Chris Brown Collaboration, Signing Troy Ave
