SAN FRANCISCO: As Iggy Azalea readies the release of her sophomore album, the rapper says she’s feeling more self-assured and less worried about being or sounding cool.

“I think I’m more confident, and I think I have more belief in what I think is cool rather than worrying about what other people are

going to like,” Azalea said in an interview on February 5.

“I think I have more belief in myself in being a trendsetter, which all artistes should. So I hope to maybe move the dial a little

bit more than I did last time,” she added.

Azalea said her new album will be released “this half of the year.” It won’t include as many guest artistes as her Grammy-nominated debut, The New Classic,” she said.

“Less features than last time. I went a bit feature crazy,” she said of the 2014 album, which included songs co-starring Jennifer Hudson, mentor TI, reggae artiste Mavado and pop singers Rita Ora and Charli XCX.

“I’m hoping people will see my growth, being able to hold my own on a song without needing somebody else’s companionship,” she added. “But I still will do some features because I love that, too.”