Iggy Azalea is currently experiencing a meteoric rise in her career, and she is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable female stars in the music industry. But before experiencing all this fame, the Australian recording artist went by her birth name, Amethyst Amelia Kelly.
Iggy Azalea explained her stage name in the Vevo original series ‘A.K.A’
Although the hip-hop star is preparing for her debut at this Sunday’s (Aug 24th) 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, Azalea has managed to take some time to explain the origins of her catchy stage name in the new Vevo original series ‘A.K.A.’
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“My name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, but you guys probably know me as Iggy Azalea,” The 24-year-old firmly said. “And that’s how it’s gonna stay.”
Azalea, who is the first celebrity to appear in the brand new series, went onto explain that her name came as a “two-part saga,” as Iggy was the name of her beloved pet dog.
“I had a dog called Iggy, who I loved very, very much,” she continued. “One time he got bitten by a snake, and he couldn’t move his legs, and I realized he had killed the snake.” Fortunately after one visit at the “pet hospital,” her canine companion was given an antidote and made a full recovery in three weeks.
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“I got a name-plate necklace made in his honor,” Azalea added. “Everybody started to think that my name was Iggy so it kind of became my nickname and I took it on board and started rapping with it.”
The second part of her name originated from the ‘Fancy’ rapper’s grandfather, who advised her that it would be beneficial to have a two-word stage name, or one with a higher number of syllables, Iggy just wasn’t good enough.
The rapper will “kill you” if you don’t call her Iggy
“(He) said to me, ‘You can’t have a one-word stage name,'” she recalled. “It made perfect mathematical sense, so I had to think of a good last name.”
She finally settled on Azalea “because that is a street name that my mom and family live on . and it sounds very feminine and I thought it would balance out Iggy being so masculine.” The rap star then concludes with an important message, “So if you see me on the street call me Iggy or I will kill you, seriously, I really will.”
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