Iggy Azalea Thanks Missy Elliot, Lil' Kim For Support After Criticism

" If you’re in the public eye you get criticized and picked apart…"

ByABC News via logo
March 23, 2016, 10:12 AM

— -- In 2014, Iggy Azalea was breaking barriers. The Australian rapper is the first artist since “The Beatles” to simultaneously hold the number one and two spots on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

But a tirade of social media backlash over race, hip-hop culture and rapping with an accent prompted her to unplug and then cancel her tour at the end of last year.

Azalea stopped by “Good Morning America” today to discuss her second album and reveal how she’s handled the criticism she’s faced from fellow rappers.

“I think [if you're a] rapper or if you’re an actress, no matter what you do if you’re in the public eye, you get criticized and picked apart," Azalea told told GMA. "I have to deal with it.”

“It’s tough sometimes," she added, but says she tries to think about the people who support her. “I grew up loving Missy Elliot, loving Lil' Kim or Trina and so I’m lucky I have those women I really idolized support me. So, I get a little bit confident in that, knowing the people I look up to appreciate what I’m doing. So that helps.”

Azalea also addresses her troubles in her new album, “Digital Distortion.”

The Aussie’s dance video for her recently released single, “Team,” has received seven million views on YouTube.

“I think me having a rough year last year and taking a step away," Azalea said, "it gave me the ability to just have this space to quietly create my little masterpiece."