Azealia Banks live
Azealia Banks
Calling sensational female rapper Azealia Banks a firecracker is like calling an AK-47 a Nerf gun. Using Twitter as her virtual dartboard, she forgoes prick-safe darts in exchange for razor-sharp insults at musicians, entertainers, and politicians.
Recently deemed an anarchist by The Atlantic, she’s racked up daily offenses that range from endorsing Donald Trump on Twitter because she wants to watch America burn, to being arrested for biting a security guard on the breast. Sarah Palin, Erykah Badu—no one is safe.
Azealia Banks
But what about her music?
If you haven’t given Azealia Banks a listen before, do yourself a favor and shuffle through her discography. Nothing has managed to come close to her 2011 hit, “212”, which garnered over 111 million YouTube views (her next most popular video has 12 million) and was dubbed one of the top 20 songs of 2011 by NME. But from 1991 to Broke with Expensive Taste, she’s since released a wealth of music exemplifying the same unique, addictive style – delicious ′90s dance tunes layered with filthy tongue-twirling rhymes.
Using Twitter as her virtual dartboard, she forgoes prick-safe darts in exchange for razor-sharp insults at musicians, entertainers, and politicians.
She recently surprise dropped a free mixtape Slay-Z via Twitter after being unable to release any music for a while due to yet another dispute with yet another record label.
Slay-Z, featuring hip-hop star Rick Ross and popular R&B duo Nina Sky, is basically good old Azealia gone commercial. “Queen of Clubs” creeps so far into mainstream, fist-pumping EDM territory as to include a beat drop and generic lines like “hands up in the air” and “tell the fuckin’ DJ to play my favorite song”. The album’s closer, “Used to Being Alone.” is a break-up ballad out of left field complete with a Celine Dion-level chorus belted out. “The Big Big Beat,” which appears to be marketed as the album’s hit single, throws back to the retro house and offbeat rhythms we know and love.
Take a break from the celeb gossip and Twitter feuds to feast on her new (and free) album.
And her latest video.
