Iggy Azalea took a lot of heat for what some called a lackluster halftime performance for the Las Vegas Raiders ... an unfair criticism if you ask Tory Lanez.
We caught Tory at LAX on Tuesday and got an update on his and Iggy's developing collab ... which he announced earlier this month.
Many fans speculated the two were dating, but Tory tells us they actually were locked in the studio for the past two and a half months ... taking a short break in order for Iggy to go on tour -- they'll resume operations in November.