Iggy Azalea

While groups like Men at Work and AC/DC helped put Australia on the map for rock music, the land down under wasn't known as a stronghold for hip-hop until the rise of Iggy Azalea. Amethyst Amelia Kelly was born in Sydney, Australia, her family later relocating to New South Wales. Her father was a painter who turned his daughter on to art, while her mother did domestic work. Azalea loved hip-hop since she was 11, falling under the spell of Tupac Shakur, and she started rapping when she was 14. Azalea eventually dropped out of high school and did domestic work with her mother so she could save up enough money to travel to the States. Azalea wanted to travel to the country where hip-hop was born, and she finally went to America in 2006 when she was 16, traveling around the south, living in Miami Florida and Atlanta Georgia. During this period, she adopted the stage name Iggy Azalea through the old trick of combining the name of her first pet, a dog named Iggy, and Azalea Street, where she grew up and where her family continued to live after she became a star. Azalea finally moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2010 and put up two videos on YouTube, "Pu$$y," and "Two Times." Her debut mixtape Ignorant Art (2011) was followed by "TrapGold" in 2012. Azalea released the EP "Glory" the same year, produced by the Southern rapper T.I. Azalea's first proper album, The New Classic, came out in April 2014, featuring the single "Fancy," her first single to chart on Billboard's Hot 100, going to #4, and hitting #1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. The album debuted at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100, the highest charting female rap album since Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.) In addition to her successful rap career, Azalea was also a professional model, prominently featured in the "Go Forth" ad campaign for Levis.