Danny Brown On Why He Dissed Iggy Azalea on 'Atrocity Exhibition'

On "Hell for It," the final song on Danny Brown's 'Atrocity Exhibition,' the Detroit rapper disses Iggy Azalea.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Danny Brown released his latest album, Atrocity Exhibition, early. His first album with Warp records was slated for release this Friday, Sept. 30, but he dropped it Tuesday afternoon instead, tweeting that it "couldn't wait any longer."

PUSHED THE ALBUM UP BRUH BRUH, COULDN'T WAIT ANY LONGER - #ATROCITYEXHIBITION TODAY!!!! pic.twitter.com/ywF2Mq1cEE

Atrocity Exhibition is a challenging, sonically experimental album composed of 15 songs, many under three minutes in length. Danny's rhymes are dense and rewarding, and tackle subjects like drug use, life in Detroit, and hip-hop today. On the last song, "Hell for It," Danny raps about lyricism in rap and takes a shot at Australian rapper Iggy Azalea: “Respect for lyricism in this game, ain’t none left/Have a bitch like Iggy think she sicker than me/And that’s so fucked up, that’s just how this shit be.”

Speaking with Complex about the lyric, Danny said he used Azalea's name because "it just rhymed." The lyric could be the kind of devil-may-care potshot that rap delights in. Or perhaps it’s a nod to the 2012 XXL Freshman cover, which featured Iggy, Danny, and Macklemore, to name a few. Iggy once remarked that Macklemore was the only rapper on it with substance. Or it could be that Iggy, a white woman with a put-on accent, is an easy target.

When asked why he mentioned her specifically, he was unwavering: "It just rhymed." 

Atrocity Exhibition is available now on Spotify and Apple Music.

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