Azealia Banks, circa 2011. Get familiar.
Set to blow up next year, A.B’s banging hip-hop productions, infectious flow and raw lyrics has caught the attention of DJs, record labels and fans worldwide. Named number 1 on NME’s cool list for 2012, her latest track “212” set YouTube alight and previous tunes ‘Runnin‘ ft Lunice, ‘L8R‘ and ‘The Chill$‘ showcase her talent further and certainly worthy of a listen. A native New Yorker, she tried her hand at acting before taking to the mic and has already been compared to the likes of fellow female NYC MCs, Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim. With a record deal, mixtape and tour set to come in 2012, i-D online took five with Azealia to find out what’s good in the world of Miss Banks.
What have you been up to last couple of weeks? I played Glasgow on the weekend for Radio 1’s Annie Mac show, but I didn’t get to see much the city. Land, lunch, nap, soundcheck then show. Then came back to London for lots of press and meetings.
How do you feel about your reception in the UK? It’s been a really warm one. I think when people pay to come see you, they want you to do well. In NY everyone is an artist and everyone is trying to do their own thing and compete, so its kinda like them coming to check out the competition. I go to shows for the same reasons! It’s been nice to be in front of an audience that wasn’t so judgmental and just really wanted to have a good time.
Tell us about yourself… When I was 16 I had an acting manager but it didn’t go how I expected, so I wanted to do something else. I’ve always wanted to be a performer, so I started rapping and at first thought I’d do it to get some attention then quit and move on. Then it kinda took off. Once I got the attention I was like “Ok, cool. What now?”. I was looking for a little direction as I didn’t really know what I was doing.
You would have never have thought that, it’s your flow that gets you attention and why people start listening to your tunes… It was something I was always good at and, if I’m being honest, it took a while to turn into a passion. I come from a musical background; I can sing, I can dance, but rap wasn’t uncommon for me either, it just wasn’t my first love.
When did it become a passion? When i got rejected by XL. That made me feel like, “How you gonna tell me no?”. It made me compete with myself more, for a while I let rejection crush me. Then I was like “no, this is about me not about them, I need to get back to my plan.”
Do you write your own lyrics? I do.
What do you think about the stigma attached to rappers who don’t write their own lyrics yet for singers it seems more acceptable? I don’t think there is a stigma attached. I think it’s fine for a rapper to recite lyrics someone else wrote for them. I feel like the only people who care are the other rappers or the people in the industry who have certain ideas about what an artist can/can’t do, should/shouldn’t do and stuff like that. I think it’s cool either way and a hit is a hit.
What do you think about the comparisons to Nicki Minaj and Lil’Kim? I don’t really think anything about them, I guess with Nicki I get it, we both were actresses who have now got into music and we went to the same school. We had the same experiences, and the same story. I don’t feel negatively about it when people do that though,. I think it’s people just trying to make sense of it and sense of what I’m doing.
Who is your favourite rapper? Styles P is really raw and I love him. He’s like “eff everybody, this is me and this is it”. I love NY rap of course. It’s home so it’s nostalgic and I love it. Shystie is good too, I love her ish!
You mentioned your LP is out next year, who are you working with for it? Paul Epworth kinda showed up one day and we’re working together now, which is insane! On a more personal level I’m feeling the productions by Lazy Jay, Lunice, Machinedrum, Jacques Greene and stuff like that. There’s plenty of other guys I’m hitting up but can’t reveal yet!
What’s next? I just wanna carry on! I’m excited to get better at what i do, I’m excited to get money behind my projects and make everything look slicker. I’m excited to get this new job! I feel like I’ve been auditioning for the last three years and now I got the job. So now it’s rehearsal, then NME tour, then mixtape in the new year.
Text: Zainab Jama
Photography: Dexter Navy
