We’re fast approaching the warmer months, which means any song released between now and the first time you crank the AC is automatically entered into Song of Summer Watch 2016. Iggy Azalea has been in this position before: Her meteoric rise (and inevitable fall) began around this same time two years ago, with “Fancy” — ubiquity she’s now attempting to repeat, no matter how much you groan. Her comeback single, “Team,” has arrived on schedule — despite her label woes — for early Song of Summer contention. It comes to us in the form of a dance video, à la Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” (which is probably for the best), but she’s decidedly unapologetic. Iggy, self-aware as ever of the unwavering public vitriol against her, isn’t here to make you like her or atone for being a white woman playing what used to be a black man’s game; this is no “White Privilege II.” She asks, “Are you fucking with the team?” over her usual radio-safe trap-pop, but she’s already made up her mind that she’ll be the sole person on it (“Baby I got me, only friend I need”).
Can Iggy get a second chance? That depends more on how much she offends during the media circus surrounding her sophomore album than it does any one single, really — no matter how high it charts — and “Team” certainly sounds primed for the top. Still, it’s unlikely rap fans will forgive her weak Chance the Rapper shout-out, claims to Dutty Wine, or generous interpolation of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” (admittedly the best part of the song). Just don’t hold your breath for an apology.