Yahoo On the Road: Iggy Azalea Embodies Rags-to-Riches Story in Concert

Yahoo On the Road: Iggy Azalea Embodies Rags-to-Riches Story in Concert

Iggy Azalea placed her many artistic stylings on display Thursday during a one-hour set for Yahoo On the Road at the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium in Los Angeles. The "Fancy" rapper brought big-budget stage props to the small college venue, but still managed to make the show feel intimate with revealing song choices, as well as selections that highlighted her rapid-fire rap skills.

Iggy's song "Work" may not have cracked the top 40, but it will remain one of her most meaningful recordings. The 2013 release tells her story of leaving Australia as a teenager to pursue a career in rap in the U.S. During part of her performance of the song, her dancers knelt by her side as she rapped the lyrics, center stage, making the chorus resonate even more: "No money, no family /16 in the middle of Miami." Elsewhere in the song, she talks scrubbing and sleeping on floors before achieving her dream.

Although she did not talk a lot between songs, she shared more personal info later when she referenced that USC is the alma mater of her boyfriend, Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Nick Young. "'SC happens to be the college where I think my future husband went to, right?" she said to the cheering audience. "So you kinda got a special place in my heart. I hope we can tell him that we turned up and had fun tonight."

No problem here. Iggy kept the show upbeat, especially during a segment where she played excerpts of her hits with Rita Ora ("Black Widow"), Ariana Grande ("Problem"), T.I. ("No Mediocre"), and J.Lo ("Booty"). Iggy, who spent plenty of time on stage shaking her backside, lived up to the song's raucous chorus, "Big, big booty / You got a big booty." She danced with her back to the audience for much of the song, drawing cheers from the college crowd (which was enjoying a break a week before finals).

When the music started for "Fancy," her song that held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks, the excitement reached its peak -- even the guys in the audience sang along to the female anthem. She wrapped on a high note, triggering her stage props that fired off smoke like rockets. Fancy, indeed.

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