Who is Azealia Banks? American rapper who wanted to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration — all you need to know
Singer makes headlines for all the wrong reasons
AZEALIA Banks exploded onto the music scene in 2011 with her catchy tune 212.
The American rapper’s debut single was an instant hit – but it’s her controversial antics, not her songs, that have kept her in the headlines since then.
Here we reveal some facts you might not know about the singer.
Fame and fortune
Azealia first released her own music on MySpace and YouTube in 2008, and was still not signed to a record label when 212 came out.
Thanks to the song’s success, Azealia landed a recording contract with Interscope and Polydor Records.
Her good fortune followed a tumultuous childhood. Azealia’s dad died from pancreatic cancer when she was just two years old, and she says her mum became abusive.
Azealia left home when she was 14 and did not finish high school – deciding to pursue her dream of becoming a recording artist instead.
She moved to Montreal, Canada, but was forced to return home when her visa expired. Azealia returned to New York, working in a strip club to pay the bills.
Since finding fame, Azealia has collaborated with Kanye West, Lady Gaga and the Scissor Sisters – but her efforts did not make the final album cut for any of the artists.
Getting personal
Azealia identifies as bisexual, but says she also hates labels.
She once the New York Times: “I’m not trying to be, like, the bisexual, lesbian rapper. I don’t live on other people’s terms.”
American dream
While a long list of artists refused to be involved in Donald Trump's inauguration as US president, Azealia said she'd love to be on the bill.
The singer wrote in a Facebook post: "Saw the entertainment line for the inauguration and it made me very upset. This is an EPIC moment in modern history and it should def be celebrated in style. I would love to perform at the inauguration."
Azealia previously revealed she planned to vote for Trump because he was "the only one who truly has the balls to bust up big business".
The singer — who is known for speaking passionately about black civil rights in America and once called on the US government to pay £80 trillion in slave-trade compensation to African Americans — added: “Politicians are inherently evil, I trust the one who is most transparent.”
Other controversies
In September 2015, Azealia was alleged to have attacked a French passenger on a Delta flight, after he blocked her from pushing past him as she rushed off the plane in LA.
It’s alleged that the singer spat in the man’s face, punched him and clawed at his shirt.
A flight attendant stepped in to calm the singer down, and she was caught on camera calling him a "f***ing f****t" in a foul-mouthed rant.
Later the same year, Azealia was arrested for attacking a female security guard.
Then, in March 2016, Sarah Palin threatened to sue Azealia over a series of tweets in which she slammed the politician and threatened to "run a train on her".
Just two months later, she accused former One Direction singer Zayn Malik of stealing ideas from her music videos for his song Like I Would.
Azealia went on to call the British Pakistani singer a "curry scented b****" in a racist and homophobic rant.
She was removed from the line-up for Rinse FM’s Born & Born festival, in London, following the slurs.
That October, she hit headlines again after a dramatic bust-up with Gladiator actor Russell Crowe, for which both stars claim the other was to blame.
In December, she shocked Instagram followers when she shared a since-deleted video of herself scraping up blood and feathers, revealing she'd been sacrificing chickens as part of a witchcraft ritual.
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