1. Azealia Amanda Banks is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.
54 Facts About Azealia Banks
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Azealia Banks subsequently signed with Interscope and Polydor Records before separating in 2013.
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Azealia Banks later signed to Parlophone and Warner Records before quitting her label in 2023.
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In 2017, Azealia Banks had her film debut in the musical drama Love Beats Rhymes, portraying the lead character.
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Azealia Banks's works have garnered acclaim from critics, drawing on various sounds including house, rap, pop, electronic music, and avant-garde.
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Azealia Amanda Banks was born on May 31,1991, in New York City's Manhattan borough; she was the youngest of three.
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At a young age, Azealia Banks became interested in musical theater, dancing, acting, and singing.
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At this point Azealia Banks decided to end her pursuit of an acting career, citing the stiff competition and overall sense of nonfulfillment.
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Azealia Banks never finished high school, instead choosing to embark on a career as a recording artist.
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In September 2011, Azealia Banks released her debut single, "212", as a free digital download from her website.
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Azealia Banks released the track "NEEDSUMLUV " online on January 16,2012, coinciding with what would have been the 33rd birthday of the late singer Aaliyah, who is sampled on the track.
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Azealia Banks was scheduled to release her second single, "Esta Noche", from Fantasea, on September 25,2012, but it was pulled the day of its release due to sampling disputes between Azealia Banks and its producer, Munchi.
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Azealia Banks collaborated with both Lady Gaga and Kanye West, but these songs remain unreleased.
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On December 31,2012, Azealia Banks released "BBD", a collaboration with Sup Doodle and Apple Juice Kid.
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Early in 2012, Azealia Banks revealed that her debut album would be called Broke with Expensive Taste, and said it would include contributions from musicians including Toko Yasuda, Theophilus London, Kevin Hussein, and Ariel Pink.
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In May 2013, Azealia Banks announced that the second single from Broke with Expensive Taste would be "ATM Jam", featuring Pharrell.
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Azealia Banks reportedly has possession and the rights to the work she released with Interscope.
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Azealia Banks surprise-released Broke with Expensive Taste under Prospect Park on iTunes on November 7,2014.
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In 2015, Azealia Banks performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and posed nude for the April issue of Playboy, shot by Ellen von Unwerth.
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In late 2015, Azealia Banks revealed that she was unable to release new music until March 2016, due to the separation from her label, Prospect Park, but as of February 2016 she was officially cleared of her contract and able to release new music.
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In February 2016, Azealia Banks released the single, "The Big Big Beat", with its official video uploaded to Vevo in April.
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Azealia Banks announced that her next project will be Fantasea II: The Second Wave, a follow-up to 2012 mixtape Fantasea.
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On June 26,2017, Azealia Banks released the promotional single, "Escapades", from the upcoming album Fantasea II: The Second Wave.
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Azealia Banks performed across Europe in a handful of shows during 2017.
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On January 31,2018, Azealia Banks announced that she had signed a US$1 million record deal with Entertainment One.
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Azealia Banks first teased the track back in 2016 by playing the entire song on the live streaming app, Periscope.
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On December 16,2019, Azealia Banks released the promotional singles "Count Contessa" and "Pyrex Princess" on various streaming platforms.
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Azealia Banks released the single "Six Flags" featuring Slim Dollars on January 7,2021.
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Azealia Banks began teasing a track titled "New Bottega" in August 2022.
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Azealia Banks criticized Sweat It Out for marketing "New Bottega" as a dance recording instead of a hip hop song.
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Since writing "212", Azealia Banks has adopted an alter ego, "Yung Rapunxel".
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In October 2019, Azealia Banks announced that she would perform under the name Azilka during her tour in post-Soviet countries.
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In February 2021, Azealia Banks publicly announced her engagement to American artist Ryder Ripps, but the next month Azealia Banks announced the end of the relationship.
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In July 2016, Azealia Banks admitted to lightening her skin due to skin blemishes caused by her birth control regimen and defended the process of skin bleaching.
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BuzzFeed News wrote Azealia Banks "has been frank about her own mental health issues".
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Azealia Banks has been accused of both homophobia and transphobia, with Out editors calling her a bully to the LGBT community rather than an ally.
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Azealia Banks has expressed a broad range of views on trans people over the years.
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Azealia Banks mentioned her transgender brother and derided the "pain" and "ostracism" that comes with transphobia.
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Azealia Banks is known for publicly speaking out on African-American civil rights issues, with a commentator at Splice Today describing her as having "that hot New York temper where she will pop off if you cross her the wrong way".
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Azealia Banks added that reparations could be used to improve educational prospects for black Americans.
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Azealia Banks claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy prevented African exchange students from leaving the country, in reference to Ukrainians authorities who barred Black immigrants from fleeing at the onset of the war.
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Azealia Banks claimed without evidence that Ukraine was using its embassies in African countries to recruit mercenaries to fight in Ukraine.
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Azealia Banks said that Zelenskyy was trying to provoke a global nuclear war and urged Ukraine to surrender.
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Azealia Banks praised Florida's governor Ron DeSantis, whom she called "focused on the basic shit" and "practical about a lot of things".
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In July 2024, Azealia Banks attended a rally in support of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign in Florida.
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Azealia Banks has developed a reputation for disputes with several public figures on social media, particularly Twitter, with Complex noting that "she gets more attention for her public feuds than she does for her music".
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Azealia Banks has been involved in altercations with crew and passengers aboard commercial flights, resulting in her being removed from airliners, and she has accused some foreign airlines of racism against her.
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Azealia Banks denounced "racists" in Israel and Australia and said she would never return to either country.
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In May 2016, Azealia Banks posted what several media outlets described as a racist and homophobic rant against Zayn Malik on Twitter, later targeting young actress Skai Jackson.
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In October 2016, Azealia Banks filed a police report against actor Russell Crowe, claiming that he choked and spat at her before proceeding to call her the n word during a party in his hotel suite.
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In December 2016, Azealia Banks posted a series of videos on Instagram detailing her cleanup of a closet in her apartment where she claimed to have been practicing witchcraft.
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Azealia Banks admitted to practicing "three years worth of brujeria".
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Azealia Banks later said in an interview that she did not eat the cat and exhumed it for taxidermizing purposes.
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In January 2019, Azealia Banks posted xenophobic remarks about Irish people after performing in Ireland, in which she used ethnic slurs and mocked the Great Famine.