Tip says that his relationship with Iggy Azalea as her mentor 'took a bit of a rest stop' but he still jumps to her defense and believes she will persevere.
- Sep 18, 2015
AceShowbiz - T.I. and Iggy Azalea are apparently no longer on speaking terms. The Atlanta rapper revealed it in a radio interview with NYC's Hot97. "It took a bit of a rest stop," so he said. He, however, still has her back. He added, "In her defense, she had a lot thrown at her at one time. Any human being anywhere is gonna have a hard time adjusting."
"It's very difficult to be the new kid, and be the butt of the jokes, and be directed with all the negativity. It came at a time where culturally, in this nation - which, she's not from here ' we were actually looking for somewhere to place some pent up aggression," he explained. "[Iggy and her team] just kind of got it for no reason, in some cases. Some stuff they brought upon themselves. But in some cases it was the easiest place to put some pent up aggression."
Tip said he decided to walk away after Iggy's feud with Q-Tip. "After I kind of smoothed it over. (she) came back and undid (that)," he said. "It ain't even like I got tired of cleaning up. ... I'm a loyal partner. If I rock with you, I'm gonna rock with you. If you're right, wrong, we'll discuss that in the car, we gonna get out of here right now though. That's just how I am, so right now, I'm gonna block the bullets, OK? Now go! When I say, 'Go!' just go! Don't stand around and talk while I'm blocking bullets! You slowing me down."
T.I. still believes in Iggy though. "I really do feel that they [Iggy and her team] just needed a little more time to adjust, which I feel they can do. They have the talent, they have the charisma," he explained. "She is the nucleus, but there are a lot of other pieces around, including myself, that keep that machine working, and I feel that they have all the tools necessary to overcome and evolve beyond this situation."
Iggy Azalea replied to one of the media posting the interview online. "Could've sworn I was still in a publishing deal with him ... but go head ... you tell it," she tweeted before deleting it. When invited for an interview to tell her side of story, she responded, "I already clarified it for your whole office floor in one tweet. Sorry, this is where I leave you."
As Tip's interview made headlines everywhere and Iggy got bombarded with questions, the female rapper seemed to feel the need to speak further. She tweeted to one of her followers, "I have the same relationship that he has with Travis Scott and I don't see them writing about that. We don't get pedis together. And that's his MANAGER. Tip handles my publishing, I see him as much as I see my label bosses. It's a business relationship."
Iggy went on, "People don't understand when he came into my life he was mentoring me, I was 21 and it was my second mixtape. I'm not in ATL making mixtapes anymore, I'm 25 years old, live half way across the country and know what I want to do creatively. That means our relationship has changed to something that's really just publishing and business based. It's supposed to..."
"I'm not supposed to be leaning on the man for help forever. Tip and me a friends, but it's always been business/creative thing," she continued. "It's not something where I hang out at his house and we eat popcorn together and it never has been." To another fan, she concluded, "Tip is like family end of the day. And it's easy to get heated when I feel like something's being twisted."
