It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title. Though this ploy annoyingly forces listeners to re-buy songs, it gives artists a chance to reimagine their vision for the album. It give the singer a second chance to brand themselves — and that's just what Iggy Azalea tries to do with “Reclassified.”
Keeping the company of her chart-topping musical peers — Katy Perry, David Guetta, Bastille, Ellie Goulding — Azalea introduces her tweaked album with a modified name, redubbing "The New Classic" as "Reclassified," and offering fans a few new tracks as a reminder of her presence in the music scene.
Ironically, Azalea tries to re-do a “New Classic.” Instead of simply releasing a companion EP or a special edition of her album with new tracks, she replaces half of her former album with new songs — an unfortunate decision given the strength of her debut.
Azalea has successfully branded herself as a strong 21st century female rapper. A blonde, Australian woman who moved to America as a teenager and found solace in hip hop culture is a testament to the the American Dream. Her song “Work” encapsulates this idea wonderfully.
On “Reclassified,” Azalea maintains all of her hit songs, including “Fancy (feat. Charli XCX,)," "Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)" and “Work."
But its the strong original tracks which make “Reclassified” worth the sacrifice.
“Heavy Crown” features a collaboration with Ellie Goulding, the princess of “Lights” whose feature includes the surprising use of profanity. Iggy has a flair for taking European singers — Rita Ora, Charli XCX, MO — and putting them to good use singing her songs' hooks. “Heavy Crown” is certainly a standout track on the album, with a structure similar to “Black Widow” and a much harder beat drop. The song is Azalea's time to show off; after holding a spot on the top of the charts for much of 2014, she certainly deserves her victory lap.
The song “Beg For It” serves as a B-side to Iggy’s hit summer single "Fancy." This new track features a much dirtier hook, with Azalea and MO making their pursuers “beg” for their attention. The song is one of the album's strongest, and shows Azalea is in fine form (fingers crossed for an epic music video). With lines like “I need me a Braveheart, can't deal with a coward/ I tell him if he ain't ballin', he should hit the showers,” and “Pulled up looking picture perfect, baby/ High price, but I'm worth it, baby,” Iggy’s confidence reaches new heights.
Other new standout tracks on “Reclassified” include “Iggy Szn” (pronounced “Iggy Season”) which is the twerk jam of the winter. Therein lies the beauty of Azalea's music; she is carefree and confident and her songs encourage fans to act the same way. Though her re-packaged album is structurally unnecessary, it is a forgivable sin — any new release by I-G-G-Y is a blessing.
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