Iggy Azalea Named “Top Rap Artist” Over Nicki Minaj, J. Cole & Drake At 2015 Billboard Music Awards

    The 2015 Billboard Music Awards kicked off last night live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Billboard’s annual award show was filled with several Hip Hop moments throughout the night. Pharrell Williams and Iggy Azalea nabbed three awards a piece. Azalea won two of the three main Hip Hop categories, beating J. Cole, Rae Sremmurd, Drake, and Nicki Minaj in the Top Rap Artist category. “Fancy” featuring Charlie XCX won the Top Rap Song award.

    Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa joined forces to perform “Uma Thurman.” Wiz also did a rendition of his chart-topping Fast & Furious 7 single “See You Again.” Chris Brown and Pitbull performed together and Nicki Minaj debuted a new single titled “The Night Is Still Young.” The night’s last performer, Kanye West, took to the stage for a pyro-laden performance of “All Day” and Yeezus’ “Black Skinheads.”

    One of the most anticipated moments of the award show was the unveiling of Taylor Swift’s action-packed “Bad Blood” video. While it was previously announced that Kendrick Lamar was set to star in the music video, Lamar surprised fans with two verses on Swift’s latest single.

    Check out the night’s Hip Hop winners below:

    TOP RAP ARTIST
    Iggy Azalea — WINNER
    J. Cole
    Drake
    Nicki Minaj
    Rae Sremmurd

    TOP RAP ALBUM
    J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive — WINNER
    Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
    Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint
    Iggy Azalea, The New Classic
    Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2

    TOP RAP SONG
    Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, “Fancy” — WINNER
    Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora, “Black Widow”
    Big Sean feat. E-40, “I Don’t F— With You”
    Nicki Minaj, “Anaconda”
    Bobby Shmurda, “Hot Boy”

    For more Iggy Azalea coverage, watch the following DX Daily:

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    113 thoughts on “Iggy Azalea Named “Top Rap Artist” Over Nicki Minaj, J. Cole & Drake At 2015 Billboard Music Awards

    1. the hiphop news story is j cole winning over drake, which is good for cole but tbh, kinda absurb. forest hill meh wont even be remembered..iggy is pop trash

      1. How is it news that JCole won over Drake. JCole is the first platinum album in 25 years with NO features or singles. Not to mention his lyrics and storytelling talent as an artist. Only thing Drake has over Cole is hype.

      2. Meh? Won’t be remembered? J Cole is head and shoulders above drake. Forrest Hills is better than anything drake put out. Drake is so damn overrated and clowns like you obviously don’t know Hip Hop.

    2. iggy is a joke even she knows it that’s why she don’t do twitter anymore cause she cant take the abuse everyday stupid spoilt rich-girl Australian fuck-pig

    3. Top Rap Artist… Hahahahaha. I feel sorry for the dudes comin’ up now. The so called “Top Rap Artist” is some Australian bizatch named Iggy. What a joke!

    4. By now these award ceremonies should’ve acknowledge that a white artist should never beat a black artist in any category. I dont care if its eminem up against MC Getbizzy, Getbizzy wins. If not, black artist cant handle it and the white asrtist gets attacked… black artist HAVE to win… so stop it, please!!!

      1. J. Cole is trash by the way… Drake is r&b ssnd if i would have handed out the award then Nikki would have got it.. rap is soft now and all these new rap artist are omly hot cuz its all we have. Like if u stuck on an island with some ugly chicks but after awhile they appeal because its all u have… (oh shit… maybe she isn’t that bad :/) lol

      2. its not because she is white that im upset…its bc she garbage so be clear…it has nothing to do with race..

    5. What the hell is going on, HOPHIP NEED TO START CALLING OUT WHAT NOT HIPHOP JUST CAUSE YOU RYHME IN A SONG DOES NOT MEAN YOUR HIPHOP !!!!

    6. Puffy was going to bitch slap Drake again if Drake won, that’s why he lost. He asked to lose.

      1. Hilarious, the entire top 5 is garbage, funny how billboard tries to manipulate hiphop to mainstream America, Big Sean Shoulda won that and he wasn’t even listed LMMFAO!!!

    7. is anybody surprised this is Billboard, strictly based on Radio and pop music. Don’t worry this chick will not be around next year

    8. I’m not a fan of her music… but I will say this, people obviously have a problem with a WHITE WOMAN winning rap artist of the year. the bigger issue is that negative feeling you’re getting from that, not the artist.

      1. you’re a willing pawn in this big chess game and you have no idea at all as to what you’re cosigning

    9. Love the new rack, I wish Lil’ Debbie would do the same. Iggy is smoking hot.

    10. That’s a bunch of nonsenseand stupidity
      Iggy should be at the bottomof that list like really
      This isn’t rocket science
      I mean am lost for words
      She’s such a shit artist with a few hit singles

    11. Billboard awards the artist that chart higher and longer for a given part of the year ,maybe she just had more chart statistics then the other nominees!

      1. This is solely based on billboard charts thats why iggy won everything but top album. Nicki is def more artistic and has more range. That being said they’re both not that good.

    12. This is bullshit and fucked up ..nick minaj is still on top and hot ..not that shit.. iggy is still young in this rap game..

    13. stop wasting time with award shows that do not celebrate black artist. billboard, grammy’s and others herald the appropriation of black culture by others.

    14. Iggy in 2014-15

      Fancy 5x plat
      Work 1x plat
      Black widow 3x plar
      Beg for it – gold

      Song ft. Iggy
      Ariana grande – problem 5x plat
      TI – no mediocre 1x plat
      J-lo – booty – gold

      Yeah she won. Remember its the BILLBOARD awards, not underground superstar awards. You ppl forget that and think this award means anything. And im not an iggy fan. Idk anyone who is. You want your rapper to win? Support them more.

      1. exactly why the people are speaking. them sales mean nada except to the people who look at money as success. talent-wise no one’s checking for her and she has a vast community of peers in her genre and none of them are inquiring about her services.

      2. that “support” argument is absolute trash nowadays. who you gonna support living in Vancouver, WA or Tucson, AZ. who’s ripping up the streets or who you hear on radio 20x a day? y’all don’t even realize your heroes/winners are being sold to you, you ain’t picking them! absolute FACT. cole & kendrick are exceptions to this, do not get it twisted and smarten up

    15. this is some real shit out there igggy over j cole and drake hahaha dont start me now.
      they must be sleeping or something

    16. kendrick-jeter (watch it). drake-a-rod (you tried too much to be the best of the best & it’s gonna affect you shoulda stuck to ya natural skill set). j cole-bernie williams (mad respect but heads 4get about you). nicki-strausburg (tried to push that greatness too early now you hurt tryna comeback). iggy-brady anderson (ya cheated for that big payday & will be gone 2 years afterwards).

    17. Out of that group of artists I should’ve been at least J Cole or Rae Sremmurd… Honestly I would’ve taken anything over Iggy

    18. Iggy totally deserved this….if people knew her real story then they would understand. She worked just as hard if not harder to get from where she was to here. Just because she is a white female doesn’t mean that she didn’t have the potential to get this award. I personally enjoy listening to her over nicki minaj and I personally believe minaj is rude. People need to get past the stereotypes and just love people for who they are. She obviously wouldn’t have won if people didn’t love her

      1. Omg, are you serious man. This girl can not rap and doesn’t even know what rap is all about. I don’t care about her story, who cares. Man look first rock and roll now hip hop, the society is takin everything that’s integrity from hip hop. As a rap artist she is below garbage and does not deserve to win an award for hip hop. It was all rigged

      2. no. Don’t vote because of her struggle. It’s about talent. She can’t rap better than the people on that list. Point blank. Period.

      3. It’s not about her struggle. It’s about talent. She can’t rap better than those on that list. Period. Point blank.

      4. You obviously don’t listen to hip hop so stfu, and go listen to that BS you call hip hop. It’s offensive to real hip hop heads….Iggy AZ IS GARBAGE ALL DAY EVERYDAY!

    19. I don’t care where iggy came from, doesn’t matter that she is white, she can not rap not one bit and is a disgrace to hip hop. The guy lex needs to do a bit more research in to the true meaning of hip hop. Iggy dies not deserve to win any award ever in life for hip hop

    20. So I get that Iggy has had a hard time. And I’m glad that she’s having success. But let’s be real, a struggle is no reason to favor an artist over another, especially when Nicki all but carved the path the fame for Iggy. If not Nicki, then Drake should have won….

      1. I agree with you mate I am not a great fan of Nicki and i prefer Iggy but even myself agree that Nicki should have won or either great his new album ”If you’re reading this is too late” is really good I love all the songs

    21. THEY SHOULD HOST A SEPARATE AWARD SHOW FOR POP/RAP SONGS BECAUSE THIS IS SHOCKING. FANCY IS OKAY BUT ITS NOT EVEN A RAP SONG ITS MORE A POP SONG FOR GIRLS. IM A RAP FAN BUT I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT MORE PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO POP THAN RAP AND THAT’S HOW IGGY WON BUT ITS UNFAIR ON THE RAPPERS WHO MAKE STRICTLY RAP MUSIC. ITS SUPPOSED TO BE THE RAP AWARDS BUT THEY NOMINATE CORNY POP SONGS AND EVERYBODY KNOW RAPPERS LIKE KENDRICK ARE TRUE MC’S COMPARED TO IGGY SO THEY SHOULD GET IT BEFORE HER. FANCY IS FOR GIRLS ONLY THINK THE GUYS LIKE IS BOOTY LOL THE VIDEO WAS EVEN INSPIRED BY A CHICK FLICK.

      1. You guys are crazy..drake is definitely ahead of anyone’s time…Kanye is the only one who is still there..j.Cole is ok nothing to brag about tho..Nikki holds her own..iggy is not a rapper..Eminem did his shit already..what are you people listening to…drake 100 percent is at the top of his game right now period!!! Stop the non sense…

    22. The fact that Eminem didn’t even become a nominee for the award just shows how bad this is, Eminem although not keeping up to what he used to be still manages to use complex rhymes with his lyrical talent yet is not appreciated by the “hip hop fans” because of the lack of catchy beats or a hot hook. Hip Hop has been dead. J.Cole was truly the only rap artist in the category.

    23. I could understand Iggy being better than Drake and J.Cole but Nikki get out of here. Hip hop need a make over bring the real hip hop back

      1. Naw, it’s because she isn’t original i believe if anything nicki minaj should of won since she is at least original, Iggy simply just copied Nicki’s style so don’t even bring in the discussion that she is hated for being white it’s lack of originality

    24. Drake should have won best rap artist. The album dropped out of nowhere, shut the internet down, and the whole album topped the charts! That doesn’t happen often people. Iggy is nowhere even close. Just had a few big singles

      1. Beyonce did the same, Jay z, kendrick and j cole. I’m assuming that you’re a drake fan coz of what you saying. BTW j cole did deserve to win. Not to say that drake is garbage but to be honest he just keeps producing the same type of music

      2. Because Beyonce and Jay are so original and change from album to album as well?

        Didn’t mind J Cole winning but Iggy Azalea as top rapper?

        Just remember this when someone starts pulling out these BS awards to prove there favourite rapper is GOAT.

    25. Smh… All whack as fuck period, where the fuck is joey badass, earl sweatshirt, Kendrick, etc, its almost like people turn on the radio and think this is all the music out there, almost like heres some shit for you now listen to it, not to mention its pop not hip hop, wtf happened to music…

      1. While I agree that Kendrick is one of the best artists around, he didn’t really do anything in 2014. To Pimp A Butterfly was released in 2015, so it wasn’t eligible. At least I think that’s how the rules go.

    26. Can someone please tell me who the hell iggy azalea is?….am pretty sure this is my first time hearing of her…so am suprised she won best hiphop…

      1. It’s more of the same, garbage rap songs with catchy beats winning awards over true rap albums. This is nothing different , 2014 Grammy awards was the real crime, with Kendrick getting snubbed by Maclemore and Lewis. Iggy Azalea can’t rap to save her life. All her shot is trash, but because of a catchy hook, chorus, and people can dance to it she won. The death of hip hop continues

    27. I’m surprised none of yall mentioned Iggy jackin GWEN STEFANI’s hip hop swag. The only song I heard/know by Iggy is Fancy and that song has Gwen written all over it…..on another note, yall joke around but hip hop, along with a myriad of other things in the black community, is being snatched….never mind

      1. J.Cole said it on his album “he watched Iggy take the award home, just like Elvis, they have snatched our sound. Smh.

      2. But she didn’t win a Grammy… -_-
        Sam Smith won them all.
        And J. Cole was speaking in future-tense on that track, not talking about something that actually happened.
        Besides, he said he was just kidding on the very next line.

      1. Or because you didn’t, I don’t know- listen to the radio at all in 2014?
        The song literally played every ten minutes that summer.

    28. I dont even listen to rap anymore its so watered down the culture is no where in it anymore. They should call it something else cause its definitely not rap

      1. Rap is not based on culture, it’s just a style of vocals. HIP HOP is the name of the music based on culture. And it’s very much alive, just not comercially marketable. That’s why we have ‘artists’ like Nicki Garbaj.

    29. Music has been on some other shit for YEARS now. People always wondered why I stopped spitting; its because people no longer LISTEN to music they just HEAR a nice ass beat and think a song is a hit. Shit has nothing to do wit Iggy being white. If Young Thug had won anything this discussion would have been the same from REAL hip hop fans just featuring his name all of over it. I don’t cate what color you are; if you can’t spit, then you can’t spit… PERIOD!

      1. Thank I agree 100% same reason I walked on the industry and I was only a promoter this is not hip hop anymore

    30. The only rap albums I liked in 2014 were Childish Gambino’s STN MTN and Kauai. J. Cole’s album was a let down and I don’t think I’ve listened to more than 5 tracks off of Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.

      I’m not saying Iggy deserves Top Rap Artist, but 2014 wasn’t a great year for Hip-Hop (imo), so if she wants to take it I’m not complaining.

    31. This is why hip hop is dead. People worship a catchy chorus and beat and don’t listen to lyrics. Fancy is not better lyrically than ANYTHING on Drake, J Cole, or Nicki’s albums. Billboard should be ashamed.

    32. You’ve got a lot of butt hurt people here who don’t realize that Billboards awards is the only real authentic awards, and second is the peoples choice awards, BECAUSE they reflect what the fans listen to – what the fans want – what the fans request.

      so what if the fans decided they prefer Iggy Azalea to any of the others, it’s just one year stupid, stop acting like crazy clowns.

      You want real-pure rap go to some underground rap party, that’s where you will find it, but it doesn’t sell in the market place, so either every pure rap fan buys 10 copies of the same pure rap to boost sales and maket it marketable or just STFU.

      1. Even if your comment was correct which it isn’t.Stop tryin to justify the snub……again. Remember Kendrick Lamar losing to McClemore WTF…..just call it what it is BS!

      2. The Billboard Awards are based on the Billboard Charts, not what people want to hear. Radio stations have obligations from record labels to play certain songs X amount of times per day. If the song catches with the audience then it’s augmented by requests, etc. But these songs start with billboard status due to big money from the Big 3. It has nothing to do with what people want to hear and everything to do with industry business.

        As much as it kills me, Iggy did dominate the charts in 2014, so she (her record label) deserve that award. There are plenty underground artists who make very good money that you have never heard of, and some people that you know well don’t even have enough money to pay the rent. It’s how the industry works.

      3. That was the GRAMMYS, you idiot.
        This is the BILLBOARD awards.
        Go back and re-read the comments. These awards are distributed based on chart impact. Not opinions on who is a better artist.

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