Iggy Azalea

Aussie rapper Amethyst Amelia Kelly (a.k.a. Iggy Azalea) started gaining traction in 2011, when she began uploading freestyle videos to YouTube. But the release—actually a strategic “leak”—of her video for “Pu$$y” was a minor Internet explosion. The song, which is not about felines and is actually about, well, you know (vaginas), foregrounded Azalea’s unabashedly in-your-face lyrics. (The song’s hook is, simply, a robotic voice saying the word “pussy.”) Earlier this year, Azalea made it to the over of XXL and appeared on the influential hip-hop mag’s “Top 10 Freshman List.” Not bad for a 21-year-old white girl from Sydney, Australia, who spits about cunnilingus.   

Updated 05/09/2012