"Pussy" (stylized as "Pu$$y") is a song by
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
rapper
Iggy Azalea
Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognitio ...
, taken from her debut
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
, ''
Ignorant Art
''Ignorant Art'' is the debut mixtape by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who released it as a free digital download on 27 September 2011, and is widely recognized as the work that launched her music career. The mixtape includes production by Los ...
'' (2011). Azalea uploaded the song's
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in August 2011, where it subsequently went
viral, helping to propel the young rapper to prominence.
Azalea has performed the track regularly since its release as a part of her live shows
setlist
A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance.
A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
, including on her 2014
The New Classic Tour
The New Classic Tour is the debut concert tour by Australian recording artist Iggy Azalea. The tour promoted her debut studio album, ''The New Classic''. Beginning April 2014, the tour played 15 concerts in North America, with plans to perform a ...
.
Background and development
"Pu$$y" was recorded in Los Angeles in 2011, where Azalea had been residing since 2010 after migrating from Australia to Miami in prior years to pursue her rap career, and was produced by Chordz 3D and Fuego from D.R.U.G.S., the production team behind her debut mixtape ''Ignorant Art''. The
intro
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
of the track, featured on the mixtape and Azalea's original self-released video version, contains a dialogue between
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
and
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
from their 1992 romantic comedy film ''
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
''.
In October 2011, Chordz 3D, a member of D.R.U.G.S., said of the song: "I knew Iggy was a star from the moment I met her. When we did 'Pu$$y', I knew we were on to something, and it would be just a matter of time before the world what I saw. I’m grateful that the response has been positive so far." Azalea talked about the attention received by the release: "I definitely have a plan but I didn't contrive to put out 'Pu$$y' and think that people would super hate it, or that it would open up these doors, because it's so out of the box that I just didn't think that it'd really go like that. I definitely have a master-plan that I'm trying to accomplish, which by the way has nothing to do with
vagina
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...
s." Explaining the concept behind it, Azalea added, "The song is pretty forward but I don't really relate what I say to my personal life ... I'm talking about that just because I, personally as a female, think that it's so ridiculous that there's this double standard where I can't say that, or if I do say it it's this or that," she reflected, "I said it because of that, and not because I'm super kinky and want everybody to know about my great vagina."
The song originated from her remix of
Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...
's 2011 song "
Gucci Two Times
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...
." Azalea explained, "I really liked the song, but it was a remix thing. I wanted to make like a part two, I wanted to do it again, bigger and better, have a real video and so that's why I decided to do that, it was kind of an ongoing experiment." She elaborated in an earlier interview saying, "The song 'Pu$$y' comes from the Gucci Mane 'Two Times' remix that I did on my YouTube page and that was kind of just a joke we would say in the studio ... and I was like 'Someone should put that as a line on their song', and no one would ever do it," leading her to create her own version entitled "Pussy Two Times". "It's so funny to me because that song wasn't even about vaginas, it just happened to get on my crotch, but it's actually saying 'you're all pussies' ... I just did it
he video
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
because people obviously like vaginas, so I'll do it there but it's so weird to me to see the part two actually be about 'pussy'."
During an interview in early 2012, Azalea also talked about the perception people had of her sexually-charged imagery, "So much of what I do that’s controversial in America wouldn't be a big deal back home. America is a highly sexualized society but people are afraid to admit what they like. When people tell me that I have to be sexy that’s demeaning, not powerful. To a lot of people, a powerful, sexy woman is vulgar. When I first came out people said, she only raps about her vagina. I'm not a vagina rapper!
aughs.I talk about many other things. The video
or 'Pu$$y'could’ve been way more sexual. I held back because I didn’t think people could handle it.
aughs. Talking about her
upcoming debut album, she pointed out, "For me, the type of topics that I really like to address in my music are ones that are relevant to women – love and breakup or, I have songs like 'Pu$$y', which is like surface level stuff but really it's just kind of wanting to feel powerful as a woman."
Critical reception
Matt Jost of RapReviews.com commented that "while there's a lot to be analyzed in that clip, the song 'Pu$$y' is a straight up rap tune, from the opening snippet of
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
in ''
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
'' to a rapper talking about her private parts."
''
HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
'' noted "the mere title of the song is enough to catch anyone's interest, and catty content to match" and "as the musical approach sorts itself out, Iggy has steadily provided raw power, mixed with a bit of 'I don't give a fuck.'" In 2015, ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' named "Pu$$y" one of Azalea's ten best songs, writing that it is "the crux of her problematic pop allure."
Music video
The "Pu$$y" music video was shot in the territory of street gang
Rollin 60s in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and features Azalea and her friends suggestively slurping ice creams. It was controversial for the prominent
casting
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...
of a young boy while Azalea
raps about her sexual prowess. After the release, she explained he's the son of a friend who was also in the video and couldn't find a babysitter, bringing him along to the set.
"I felt guilty afterwards, because it was a natural thing. I didn't plan, it wasn't contrived for me to put children in the video," she said. "The kid's mom is in the video, and she came to set – I asked her to come, everybody in the video is my friend or family in real life – and she was like 'I can't get a babysitter for
im and I said 'Bring
im because he's like my little play cousin, I love that kid!'" she continued, "and so he came, and you know how kids are, they don't realize what's going on around them and he kept jumping in the video, he always wants piggybacks ... and they're like 'just leave him in the shot' and he totally swagged it ... he stayed, they picked the shots he was in. There was actually a lot of shots without
imbecause
ewasn't supposed to be in it and so when it came out like that I was like 'you know what, fuck it!'"
Azalea uploaded the video without permission from the producers in August 2011, forcing it off
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
temporarily.
Azalea's version of the video is introduced by the rapper and a friend in a nocturne rooftop setting, where she expresses frustration over having already filmed it "seven weeks ago," concluding, "So I asked myself 'what would
Tupac
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
do?' –
leak
A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usuall ...
the video." The ending also uses clips from another viral YouTube video called "Kittens inspired by kittens" where a little girl
voices over pages from a book about
cats
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
.
"Pu$$y" was directed by Falkon and produced by Blk Bart. Their final version of the video was released later in 2011 with additional
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
The ...
and does not include the intro of Azalea and her friend, the ''Boomerang'' dialogue in the opening scene nor the "Kittens inspired by kittens" sample.
During an interview at
102.7 KIIS FM
KIIS-FM (102.7 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio, top 40 form ...
in August 2013, while talking about her
creative control
Artistic control or creative control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this c ...
, Azalea revealed the video was based on the 1995 American film ''
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day ...
'', "
hat moviemade me do 'Pu$$y.' ... The ice cream truck, the cereal, all that ... just being on the porch, just the fact that ''Friday'' kind of happened just on a neighborhood, and I wanted to do with that video something that is interesting but nothing really happens, and you're at the front of a house and what could go on as you pass by, and that was from ''Friday''."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pussy (Iggy Azalea song)
2011 songs
Iggy Azalea songs
Dirty rap songs
Music video controversies