We Should Take Azealia Banks Seriously

What’s most important to know is that Azealia Banks (@AZEALIABANKS) is a talented artist bars no punches when it comes to speaking her truth. Her truth is one that emanates from being  23 year old Black woman raised in Washington Heights, New York City. She was raised on avant garde jazz, R&B and hip-hop but is equally fluent in merengue, viveros, and telenovellas. Thus, the diasporic influences she showcases on her album Broke with Expensive Taste, is not a gimmick, but a part of her real lived experience.

It’s hard to escape the name Azealea banks these days. The 23 year old rapper has no problem speaking her mind about the music industry, the cultural smudging of hip hop, or killings of unarmed black people. However, she’s equally known for her Twitter confrontations with artists such as Iggy Azalea, T.I., Lady Gaga, and Lupe Fiasco. (You can read a full history of her twitter beefs here.) But the latest comment that garnered countless hip hop headlines was her response to talented emcee/hip hop darling Kendrick Lamar’s recent comments about the killing of Michael Brown and the resultant protests.

Kendrick spoke to Billboard magazine and said,

Asked about the high-profile killings of African-Americans by police in 2014, from Ferguson, Mo., to Staten Island, he says, “I wish somebody would look in our neighborhood knowing that it’s already a situation, mentally, where it’s f—ked up. What happened to [Michael Brown] should’ve never happened. Never. But when we don’t have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don’t start with just a rally, don’t start from looting — it starts from within.”

To which Azealia tweeted, “That’s the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever heard a black man say.” Azealia was promptly praised and derided for her retort, but regardless of which side you’re on, I think she’s worth listening to and taking seriously. Beyond the profanity-laden tweets and sound bites is a young woman spitting complicated truths and opinions that are rarely so explicitly stated by popular music artists.

Recently Azaelia appeared on the show “Ebro in the Morning” on New York-based radio station, Hot 97, and delivered a potent and impassioned explanation as to why the “cultural smudging” of hip hop its dangerous to its longevity and marginalizes Black women.

Very often we say our young people aren’t listening and aren’t speaking. Hear her. Unedited and in her own words. Afterwards, Birgitta Johnson (@DrBirgittaSays) gave some responsorial highlights.

1. “Why y’all tryin to f** with the black girls like that!?!?! ~ Azealia Banks
   Considering the year black women have had – This girl here is getting into her good preach. Profanity laced, but good nonetheless.
2. [Referencing her twitter wars] Ebro kept trying to come back to it. He kept trying to dictate “put it in the music”. The chauvinistic patriarchal white supremacy audacity of it all!! Seriously. You’re going to tell HER what to write!?!? But she NEVERRRRRRRR backed down off of it. She was like, “NO!”
3. I didn’t realize that she was a pretty good vocalist as well…Honestly, she’s doing more singing than D’Angelo did on Black Messiah …. #shadeYesShade‬ #Listening2BrokeWithExpensiveTaste‬
4. Like literally, she’s doing what hip-hop and hip-pop SHOULD be doing in the U.S. So many flavors but still has the youthful energy. Definitely New York but with the art world flavor and diaspora tinges you love out of good NYC hip-hop…
5. While many rappers can impress with their intellect, we need to face the  fact that not many of them have a strong historical knowledge base to pull from. Against L.L. Cool J.’s side-eye inducing shout out to Robert E. Lee and Lil’ Wayne’s lyrical gaff over the Emmett Till, both in 2013, Banks is like a baby African American Studies Major up in this game if you follow her Twitter feed un-chaperoned by the media…
6. And as for Azealia’s willingness call out all who may conflict with her truth, even if it is brilliant emcee/ hip hop darling Kendrick Lamar Birgitta says: “Banks in this interview is a prime example of when a female emcee gets beyond the sound bites around feminism and goes for the jugular. The power plays they are trying…, she clearly is NOT having….”

Bonus from Fredara: Anyone who unnerves black men around their own privilege issues and annoys the mainstream recording establishment is probably someone this world needs to hear more from.

Rock on, purple-haired Black woman from Washington Heights!