T.I. slams rumors he's behind Iggy Azalea's success

Rapper T.I. has slammed rumors suggesting he's the "ghost writer" genius behind Iggy Azalea's success.

Critics claim the Fancy rapper hired a series of experts, including T.I., to pen verses for her debut album, The New Classic, but the veteran has shot down the rumors, telling entertainment site Bijou Star TV that he "ain't no ghostwriter", insisting that "Iggy got her own ideas and thoughts that she presents to the world in her own way".

He concedes that while all artists get assistance on "hooks and certain things like that", Azalea is the only person who writes the rest of her lyrics.

T.I. adds, "I couldn't write a lot of the s**t she say (sic), you know? I couldn't put her thoughts into words as articulate as she does. You know what I'm saying? She just has a different way of presenting herself and her art."

Fellow female rapper Nicki Minaj reignited claims Azalea used ghostwriters last month (Jun14), when the Superbass hitmaker appeared to take a sly swipe at Azalea during her BET Awards acceptance speech, declaring, "(What) I want the world to know about Nicki Minaj is, that when you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it."

Minaj later took to Twitter.com to clear up the statement, insisting she simply wanted to encourage female emcees everywhere to take charge of their own material - and she was not attacking chart-topper Azalea.