Pu$$y
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"Pussy" (stylized as "Pu$$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 Aus ...
rapper
Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea ( ), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. She earned public recognition ...
, taken from her debut
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
, '' Ignorant Art'' (2011). Azalea uploaded the song's
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
on
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in August 2011, where it went
viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...
, 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.


Background and development

"Pu$$y" was recorded in Los Angeles in 2011, where Azalea had been residing since 2010 after migrating from Australia to Miami in prior years to pursue her rap career, and was produced by Chordz 3D and Fuego from D.R.U.G.S., the production team behind her debut mixtape ''Ignorant Art''. The
intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
of the track, featured on the mixtape and Azalea's original self-released video version, contains a dialogue between
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...
and
Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...
from their 1992 romantic comedy film ''
Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
''. In October 2011, Chordz 3D, a member of D.R.U.G.S., said of the song: "I knew Iggy was a star from the moment I met her. When we did 'Pu$$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$$y' and think that people would super hate it, or that it would open up these doors, because it's so out of the box that I just didn't think that it'd really go like that. I definitely have a master-plan that I'm trying to accomplish, which by the way has nothing to do with
vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...
s." Explaining the concept behind it, Azalea added, "The song is pretty forward but I don't really relate what I say to my personal life ... I'm talking about that just because I, personally as a female, think that it's so ridiculous that there's this double standard where I can't say that, or if I do say it it's this or that," she reflected, "I said it because of that, and not because I'm super kinky and want everybody to know about my great vagina." The song originated from her remix of
Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...
's 2011 song " Gucci Two Times." Azalea explained, "I really liked the song, but it was a remix thing. I wanted to make like a part two, I wanted to do it again, bigger and better, have a real video and so that's why I decided to do that, it was kind of an ongoing experiment." She elaborated in an earlier interview saying, "The song 'Pu$$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 (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
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$$y' is a straight up rap tune, from the opening snippet of
Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...
in ''
Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
'' to a rapper talking about her private parts." ''
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'' noted "the mere title of the song is enough to catch anyone's interest, and catty content to match" and "as the musical approach sorts itself out, Iggy has steadily provided raw power, mixed with a bit of 'I don't give a fuck.'" In 2015, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' named "Pu$$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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
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, 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 or ...
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
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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 by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
do?' –
leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...
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''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
. "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, also known simply as post, 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 indivi ...
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 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, music production, or some other cultural product. A person, or the studio or production company, with artistic control has the authority ...
, 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 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
'', " 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