In My Defense

Last updated

In My Defense
Iggy Azalea - In My Defense.png
Studio album by
Iggy Azalea
Released19 July 2019
Recorded2018–2019
Genre Hip hop [1] [2]
Length35:32
Label
Producer
Iggy Azalea chronology
Survive the Summer
(2018)		In My Defense
(2019)		 Wicked Lips
(2019)
Iggy Azalea album chronology
The New Classic
(2014)		In My Defense
(2019)		 The End of an Era
(2021)

"Sally Walker" was released on March 15, 2019, as the lead single for the album. The single would experience moderate success, reaching number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 27 on the US Rhythmic Chart, marking Iggy's first appearance on both charts, since her single "Kream" in 2018. The song was also performed in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Show. The music video was released the same day as the single's release and featured a cameo from YouTuber James Charles.[ citation needed ]

The second single "Started" was released on May 3, 2019, and reached number 20 on the Songs Bubbling Under Hot 100 and 76 on UK Singles Chart. Its music video was released the same day. On August 10, 2021, the RIAA certified its sales with a Gold plaque after selling 500,000 units in the United States. [17]

"Fuck It Up" featuring rapper Kash Doll was released on July 19, 2019, as the third and final single and reached number 40 on the New Zealand Hot Singles Chart.[ citation needed ]

"Just Wanna" was released as the only promotional single on June 28, 2019, alongside the album's pre-order.[ citation needed ]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 39/100 [18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]
Clash 5/10 [20]
HipHopDX Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]
Idolator Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [22]
Pitchfork 3.8/10 [23]
New Zealand Herald Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [24]
Tom Hull – on the Web B+ ( Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg ) [25]

In My Defense was met with negative reviews from music critics, Aggerator Metacritic the album received an average score of 39 out of 100, based on four reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [18]

AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung said that on the album Azalea "continues bragging, boasting, and fronting without any depth or sounding pleasure". [19] In a negative review, Pitchfork 's Dani Blum wrote "The album is stacked with cartoonish approximations of what she thinks a rap song should sound like: shivers of bass, the occasional 'skrrrt,' Mad Libs of designer brands and bodily fluids. Many sound like direct imitations of the rappers she admires," and critiques the album as a whole to be "Iggy cram[ming] her songs with one-liners that sound like branded Instagram captions". He praised "Sally Walker" as the best song on the album, while "Freak of the Week" was described as "a rejected track by Megan Thee Stallion". [23] Siena Yates of New Zealand Herald said that the album "half these songs feature a good 30 seconds of Iggy just repeating the title over and over, and none of them particularly stand out". [24]

Mike Neid of Idolator stated "It's raucous and unrepentant fun. A comedown would only provide a little more depth." [22] Craig Jenkins of Vulture stated "In My Defense is a funny follow-up to the frustrations of the Digital Distortion era because the title and cover art are ruses... It's an improvement over last year's EP [Survive the Summer]. Iggy Azalea seems to be in control of her career for the first time in a long time. Not everyone in the game can say the same." [26] Nicolas Tyrell of Clash magazine praised her overall improvement, "Azalea has improved in both her flow and story-telling in her time away from the mainstream", but noted the album as a whole is "delivered as a project that she thinks that we want to hear, as opposed to what is truly on her mind". [20] Tom Hull applauded the rapper for "doubl[ing] down on her hard edge here". [25]

Commercial performance

In the US, In My Defense debuted at number 50 on the US Billboard 200 with 11,261 album-equivalent units, including 5,779 pure album sales and a streaming count of 6.67 million. [27] This marks Azalea's fourth appearance on the chart. The album would also land on the US Independent Albums chart at number 6 and number 25 on the US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.

The album would peak at number 52 and 18 on the Australian Albums and Australian Urban Albums chart respectively, while also reaching number 137 on the Belgian Albums chart.

In the UK, the album did not enter the UK Albums chart but did peak at number 36 and number 35 on the UK Digital Albums and UK Independent Albums chart. It also reached number 7 on the UK R&B Albums chart.

Track listing

All tracks produced by J. White Did It, except where noted

In My Defense track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Thanks I Get"
 2:34
2."Clap Back"
 3:28
3."Sally Walker"
  • Kelly
  • Ronny Wright
 2:58
4."Hoemita" (featuring Lil Yachty)
 3:03
5."Started"
  • Kelly
  • Ronny Wright
 3:06
6."Spend It"
  • Kelly / Ronny Wright
 3:12
7."Fuck It Up" (featuring Kash Doll)
 2:51
8."Big Bag" (featuring Stini)
  • Kelly
  • Stini
2:49
9."Comme des Garçons"Kelly Rico Beats 3:39
10."Freak of the Week" (featuring Juicy J)
 3:12
11."Just Wanna"Kelly 2:47
12."Pussy Pop"Kelly 1:53
Total length:35:32

Samples

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [29]

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Chart performance for In My Defense
Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [30] 52
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA) [31] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [32] 137
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA) [33] 13
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [34] 36
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [35] 35
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [36] 7
US Billboard 200 [37] 50
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [38] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [39] 25

Release history

Release history for In My Defense
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
Various19 July 2019Bad Dreams
2 August 2019 CD [40]
26 August 2019 [41]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trouble (Iggy Azalea song)</span> 2015 single by Iggy Azalea featuring Jennifer Hudson

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<i>Survive the Summer</i> 2018 EP by Iggy Azalea

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team (Iggy Azalea song)</span> 2016 single by Iggy Azalea

"Team" is a song by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released on 18 March 2016 as a digital download and serviced to US contemporary hit and rhythmic contemporary radio on 5 April 2016 as the lead single from Azalea's second studio album Digital Distortion. However, the album was later shelved, resulting in "Team" being a stand-alone single. Azalea wrote "Team" with Bebe Rexha, Lauren Christy, among other credited composers, including the main producers, a part of the D.R.U.G.S. collective: Marlon "Chordz" Barrow, Alexander "Nezzo" Palmer and Michael "Omega" Fonseca, with additional contributors Ryan Anthony Avilez, Louis Harden and Brandon "Stix" Salaam-Bailey. The song contains an interpolation from the 1999 composition "Back That Azz Up", written and performed by Juvenile, Lil Wayne and Mannie Fresh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kream (song)</span> 2018 single by Iggy Azalea featuring Tyga

"Kream" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea featuring American rapper Tyga. The song was released on 6 July 2018 by Island Records and serves as the lead single for her extended play Survive the Summer. It was written by Azalea, Tyga, and Ronny J. Production was handled by Ronny J, GT, and Wallis Lane. The song samples Wu Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." and Raw Beat Mafia's "Dead End". The song passed 100 million streams on Spotify in February 2020, becoming Azalea's most recent song to do that since 2014's "No Mediocre" with T.I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Walker (song)</span> 2019 song by Iggy Azalea

"Sally Walker" is a song by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. Written alongside producer J. White Did It, it was released on 15 March 2019 as the lead single from her second studio album In My Defense via Bad Dreams Records/Empire Distribution. The music video, directed by Colin Tilley, accompanied its release the same day. The song debuted and peaked at number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Started</span> 2019 single by Iggy Azalea

"Started" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for her second studio album In My Defense. The song was written by Azalea alongside Ronny Wright and produced by American record producer J. White Did It. It was released by Bad Dreams and Empire on 3 May 2019 as the second single from the album.

<i>Wicked Lips</i> 2019 EP by Iggy Azalea

Wicked Lips is the fifth extended play by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, released on 2 December 2019 through Bad Dreams Records and Empire. Although it was initially announced to be a reissue of Azalea's second studio album In My Defense, it was revealed through the rapper's Twitter that her next musical project would be an extended play.

<i>The End of an Era</i> 2021 studio album by Iggy Azalea

The End of an Era is the third and final studio album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released independently on 13 August 2021 through Azalea's label Bad Dreams Records and Empire Distribution, with the deluxe edition following on 17 September 2021. Taking inspiration from the end of her 20s for the title, Azalea stated that she wanted the album to be a "time capsule" of that decade of her life. The End of an Era includes guest appearances from Bia, Sophia Scott and Ellise on the standard edition, while Alice Chater and Tyga are featured on the deluxe edition. Production was handled by Azalea's frequent collaborator J. White Did It and several others. It was preceded by three singles: "Sip It", "Brazil" and "Iam the Stripclub".

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Aaron (19 July 2019). "All the Best New Hip-Hop Albums Coming Out This Week". Uproxx . Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Williams, Aaron (24 July 2019). "Iggy Azalea's 'In My Defense' Makes a Case for Her Inclusion in the Hip-Hop World". Uproxx . Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Readies New Album 'In My Defense'". 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Says Next Single Is Titled 'Team'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  5. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Says the 'Digital Distortion' Rollout is Coming to an Abrupt End". Billboard. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Delayed Her Album Because Nick Young Got His Ex Pregnant". Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Iggy Azalea's 'Survive The Summer' EP Is Here: Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  8. ↑ @IGGYAZALEA (11 August 2018). "I can't wait to start recording my album - Life is so boring when I'm not in the studio. I need to get back into my routine" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Signs Multi-Year Partnership With EMPIRE". Billboard . 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Parts Ways With Island Records: 'I'm Officially Unsigned!'". 3 November 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Iggy Azalea Claims She Inked a New Deal Worth $2.7 Million: 'I'm So Grateful'". Billboard . 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  12. ↑ @JWhiteDidIT (19 February 2019). "@IGGYAZALEA got some 🔥🔥🔥 coming! I can't wait till y'all hear this new music! I'm extremely proud of her‼️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ @IGGYAZALEA (27 February 2019). "he executive produced the entire project!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ "James Charles Turned Iggy Azalea Into a Drag Queen for Her New Single". 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  15. ↑ "Iggy Azalea set to drop 'Sally Walker'". 4 March 2019. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  16. ↑ AZALEA, IGGY (19 April 2019). "What you read? It's true. Iam a bitch. STARTED MAY 3!pic.twitter.com/QXsrnHEQpW".
  17. ↑ "IGGY AZALEA - STARTED". RIAA. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Iggy Azalea - In My Defense by Iggy Azalea Reviews and Ratings". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  19. 1 2 Yeung, Neil Z. (5 August 2019). "Iggy Azalea – In My Defense". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  20. 1 2 Tyrell, Nicholas (22 July 2019). "Iggy Azalea - In My Defense". Clash. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  21. ↑ Spielberger, Daniel (25 July 2019). "Review: Iggy Azalea's "In My Defense" Is Offensively Mediocre". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  22. 1 2 Neid, Mike (25 July 2019). "Album Review: Iggy Azalea's 'In My Defense' Was Worth The Wait". idolator. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  23. 1 2 Blum, Dani (25 July 2019). "In My Defense | Pitchfork". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  24. 1 2 Yates, Siena (25 July 2019). "Album review: Iggy Azalea, In My Defense". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  25. 1 2 Hull, Tom (5 August 2019). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
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  34. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  35. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  36. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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  41. ↑ "SIGNED In My Defense - LP". Iggy Azalea Shop. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
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