Why Azealia Banks Should be Hailed for her Social Misdemeanors

I have been a relentless fan of Harlem-bred rapper Azealia Banks since I caught wind of her gritty artistry back in 2012. She wasn’t the typical young ingénue, pimped out in ways that the industry usually requires.

She was and still is refreshingly rebellious, and seemed uncannily equipped to navigate the raucous world of hip-hop, and her heightened level of awareness coupled with her indisputable talent fascinated me and spurred an organic alliance that is steadfastly strong today.

I adore Banks for the same reasons I dig Kanye West. They are both incapable of holding back when it comes to vocalizing what they deem as deplorable injustice. Their method of delivery always hinders on controversial and often times insultingly brash – but the message never wavers and that is why the attention they garner adds fuel to the issues that if not for them – would remain pleasantly dormant. West’s latest antics during and after the Grammys incited strong reactions across the board but none of his critics can deny that he did raise valid points regarding an institution that always seems to get it wrong when it comes to appropriately recognizing the artists who are seamless innovators.

Azealia Banks did not have an easy childhood. Her father died of pancreatic cancer when she was two and her mother raised Banks and her two elder sisters with an iron fist. It is a proven fact that our formative years bear most of the responsibility for how we are shaped as adults. The fact that Banks is a strong-willed human volcano that erupts without warning or filters is no coincidence. There is also the realization that she is quite young and still experimenting with the notion of boundaries, which is typical for any energetic 23-year-old. It is fair to assume that she isn’t willing to shy away from verbal battles or from an opportunity to be bluntly expressive regardless of the consequences.

Her public display of renegade tendencies has made her endearingly formidable in ways that has regulated her a social castaway. She can be bitingly combative in her approach and callously dismissive but the undercurrent of her pursuits is justifiably warranted. Her conquests like most celebrity feuds, dominate the sphere of social media, which provides the best venue for hosting a popularity contest. Banks consistently fails when it comes to charmingly conveying her deepest thoughts as it pertains to the matters of the heart. She is a self-designated one-woman army who is ready to devour anything or anyone who poses a threat to an institution that she is madly passionate about.

Her longstanding beef with fellow rapper, Iggy Azalea who Banks fondly refers to as “Igloo Australia”, is the perfect example of why Banks should be considered the heroine of her generation, and the mandated mascot of a genre that is evidently sinking into a pool of bipolar gunk. Azalea who is enjoying the success stemming from her skillful poaching of a culture that has now been redesigned to tolerate a slew of Caucasian bandits that possess everything but the birthright to spew out the particular brand of verses that incite a revolution, has managed to admirably hold her own against the storm of discord leveled upon her.

She brushes off the accusations from Banks when it comes to her unwillingness to acknowledge the fact that she is benefiting from the blood, sweat, and tears of the founding fathers of a genre that was supposed to represent the depiction of an evolved community that generated its inspiration from the chaotic climate that they were forced to inhabit. A revelation that a white-bred girl named Amethyst Amelia Kelly from Syney, Australia can’t fully appreciate. But with the aid of her proud mentor, Atlanta based rapper and producer T.I. – Azalea has done an impeccable job relaying her interpretation of the dominant themes but is still regarded as a fraud by her arch nemesis.

The disagreement between both artists spread like a virus and regardless of whose side you were on, it was obvious that Banks had ruffled the right feathers. Her choice of words and somewhat volatile demeanor can easily be described as “uncouth”, “childish”, or even worse, the ranting of “an angry black woman”, but those who use those labels to brand her are sorely missing the point. Banks isn’t a bully; she is simply a young, black, talented and passionate woman who refuses to shut the fuck up. She is fully aware that what she has to say won’t be received with open arms mainly because she is incapable of being accommodatingly diplomatic. For better or worse that simply isn’t her style and if it were – she wouldn’t be nearly as interesting or enigmatic and that would be a massive disappointment.

We need Azealia Banks to stay exactly the way she is and never change. She is the perfect antidote against the trite disposition of her counterparts who are too busy “running the world” to care about the tumbling blocks around them. But perhaps that is due to her imposing template – being a dark-skinned woman immersed in a male-dominated world that caters to an audience that regards Beyonce as the blueprint for what is physically adequate has to be a heavy cross to bear.

When she challenged A$AP Rocky for his murky comments about the grooming habits of dark-skinned women, very few people came to her defense. She was vilified for insinuating that the rapper was “hiding in the closet”. A cheap shot for sure, but the point is that Banks consistently gets pummeled for defending her sentiments even when she is clearly making sense and that is infuriatingly unfair.

Her aggressiveness is a much-needed respite from the lack of response that certain topics like “racial appropriation” tend to elicit. It is breathtaking to witness her boldly simplistic campaign against the ones who stand accused. And despite the verbal beatings she is subjected to by members of her own race, particularly black men who seem to have an unhealthy disdain for Banks maybe because she is an ultra-feminist with a filthy mouth, she remains loyal to the plight of her people and the code of the streets that not only breathed life into her once spirit-ridden soul but also helped cement her still thriving career.

She has a few high-profile supporters who have come to her defense but majority view her as a bitter, thin-skinned loose canon who is single-handedly destroying her already fragile career. I prefer to see her as a stylized town crier who refuses to be overrun by critics who openly abhor her but silently subscribe to her weighty scriptures.

Her latest Twitter spat with Erykah Badu was birthed from a fan asking the “Queen of Neo-Soul” if she listened to Azealia’s Bank’s music to which the response was “Tried”. It was undoubtedly a blow to Bank’s ego that Badu, a highly revered artist publicly slammed her music. What ensued was a back and forth repertoire that ended with Banks once again having the last word and adding another name to her bloated list of “haters”. And once again – the young rapper was blamed for the awkward exchange even though she was forced into a situation where she had to defend herself.

At the end of the day, Azealia Banks shouldn’t be categorized as another misunderstood firecracker with an annoying desire to wreck havoc by crying foul because of her unrelenting need for attention. Rather she should be hailed for her ability to be relevantly disruptive – a feat that very few women her age are able to flawlessly execute. As she matures, it will be interesting to see if her undiluted traits will undergo a more polished transformation. But I desperately hope the core fibers that have propelled the power she wields when it comes to fanning the flames of awareness remain intact. She is a dying breed and I feel sorry for those of you who are unable to internalize her genius both lyrically and literally.