T.I. stopped by New York's Hot 97 yesterday in order to promote his new EP, Da Nic, but the conversation rapidly turned to his relationship with Iggy Azalea. When asked about their connection, T.I. acknowledged that it had cooled somewhat and that the two hadn't talked recently. (Representatives for T.I. and Iggy Azalea did not immediately return a request for comment.)
But the MC also defended Azalea's behavior. "She had a lot thrown at her at one time," he noted. "Any human being anywhere gonna have a hard time adjusting [to that]...It's very difficult to be the new kid and the butt of the jokes," T.I. added. "[Azalea's success] came at a time where culturally in this nation—she’s not from here—we were looking for somewhere to place some pent-up aggression. They just kind of got it for no reason in some cases. Some they brought upon themselves. In some cases, it was the easiest place to put some pent-up aggression."
According to T.I., his relationship with Azalea became more complicated after he stepped in to defuse the Twitter skirmish between her and Q-Tip. "I kind of had smoothed it over," the MC told Ebro and co. "Everything was cool, and then they kind of came back and undid what I had just accomplished. I’ma be all the way real, I’m a loyal partner. If I rock with you, I’m gon’ rock with you. Right, wrong, we gonna discuss that in the car—we’re gonna get out of here right now though. That’s just how I am. Right now, I’m gonna block the bullets. Now go. And when I say go, go! Don’t stand around and talk while I’m blocking bullets. You slowing me down! I really do feel that they just needed a little more time to adjust, which I feel they can do. They have the talent, they have the charisma, they have everything."
When pressed T.I. defined "they" as “the world of Iggy Azalea." He continued: "She is the nucleus, but there are a lot of other people around, including myself, that keep the machine working. I feel like they have all the tools necessary to overcome and evolve beyond this situation or those situations."
Azalea got on Twitter this afternoon to respond to T.I.'s comments. She noted that she's still signed to his label, and added that "the first I've heard of us having an 'issue' is via a radio interview."
"He seems to think there's nothing wrong with what he said," she continued. "Everybody else seems to disagree. I'm sure tip will publicly clarify what he meant when he feels he has the right platform to do so."
Read her full Tweets below:
