Azealia Amanda Banks is an American rapper, singer and songwriter.
50 Facts About Azealia Banks
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Azealia Banks subsequently signed with Interscope and Polydor Records before later separating in July 2013.
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Azealia Banks is currently signed to Parlophone and Warner Records.
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Azealia Banks has professionally released two mixtapes, one studio album, and two extended plays.
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In December 2017, Azealia Banks had her film debut in the musical drama Love Beats Rhymes, portraying the lead character.
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Azealia Banks' 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 follow her dream of becoming 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 " on the Internet 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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The next month, it was confirmed that Azealia Banks had worked with Lady Gaga on two tracks, "Ratchet" and "Red Flame", on Gaga's third studio album, Artpop, but they did not make the final album cut, and have since not been released.
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On December 31,2012, Azealia Banks released "BBD", which ultimately appeared on her debut album, Broke with Expensive Taste.
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Early in 2012, Azealia Banks revealed that her debut album would be called Broke with Expensive Taste, and said the album 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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On December 23,2020, Azealia Banks released the promotional single "Mamma Mia" on all platforms, where it was previously released on her SoundCloud account since April 2020.
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Azealia Banks released the single "Six Flags" featuring Slim Dollars on January 7,2021.
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On November 9,2022, Azealia Banks announced that she had officially signed to Parlophone Records, under Warner Music Group.
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Since writing "212", Azealia Banks has adopted an alter ego named "Yung Rapunxel".
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In October 2019, Azealia Banks announced that she would perform under the name Azilka during her tour in the former Soviet Union.
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In February 2021, Azealia Banks publicly announced her engagement to American artist Ryder Ripps.
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In July 2016, Azealia Banks admitted to lightening her skin due to skin blemishes from her birth control 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 stating she is a bully to the LGBT community rather than an ally.
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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, unsubstantiated, that Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the ability for African exchange students to leave the country.
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Azealia Banks claimed without evidence that Ukraine was using their embassies in African countries to recruit mercenaries to fight in Ukraine.
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Azealia Banks stated that Zelenskyy was trying to provoke a global nuclear war and urged Ukraine to surrender.
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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 Israeli "racists" and stated that she will "never ever ever ever ever" come back to Israel.
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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 December 2016, Azealia Banks posted a series of videos on Instagram detailing her cleanup of a closet in her apartment where she claims 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.