Iggy Azalea’s long and illustrious career has been plagued by accusations of cultural appropriation as well as a perceived lack of artistic talent. These accusations are both very true, and she continues to prove them correct in her recently released video for her single “Sally Walker.” To summarize the video, it depicts Azalea rapping and generally looking good at the funeral of a woman ― presumably one of her haters she discusses in the song ― who was hit by a car. This video, much like Azalea’s entire discography, is a simulacrum of Southern Black hip-hop culture bordering on caricature ― a three-minute, eight-second span devoid of any originality or meaning.
The video does not do much to reassure viewers that Azalea has learned from her past lack of consideration to the space she occupies as a white person within the hip-hop community, even after being admonished by both Q-Tip and Talib Kweli for her flippant responses to valid concerns. Instead, she continues with her long-time strategy of creating ersatz, disrespectful garbage. You have to respect her dedication.
The song itself is bland and uninspiring, sounding less like a piece of artistic expression and more like the miserable output of a machine learning algorithm fed the last few years of chart-topping Southern hip hop. The lyrical focus of “Sally Walker” is on how great she is, a promise she has been making and failing to deliver for almost half a decade. I will give her credit where it is due ― she is a competent thief. However, the studied nature of her imitation almost makes her cultural biting more egregious. Outside of a careful re-creation, she doesn’t really have much to bring to the table, and this video proves that.