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To say that Azealia Banks went too far today is, frankly, rubbish. She’s been going too far for far too long. The fact that she’s spent the last few hours calling Zayn Malik ‘curry scented’ and a ‘p*ki’ on Twitter – and telling him she should ‘start calling you punjab you dirty b*tch’ – is sadly a drop in the ocean of vile shit that the talent-void that is Azealia Banks has said in the last few years.
We could have embedded a whole long list of tweets here, but to be honest, we’re not in the business of promoting hate in the name of journalism.
But, here’s the good news: Londoners sick of her constant stream of hurtful shit-slinging have got some sweet payback. Azealia Banks is being dropped as the headliner of June’s Born & Bred festival in Haggerston Park. It’s overwhelmingly the right decision by the festival’s organisers. Nobody who uses the ‘p-word’ should ever, ever be allowed to headline a London festival. Period. Within hours of her doing it, she’s been canned. London, this is a legitimate cause for celebration.
Since allowing her career to gently cruise into the gutter after the success of breakout hit ‘212’ in 2011, the New Yorker has stopped being regarded as a functioning musician. Yet despite scorching her ties with record companies, and delivering patchy mixtapes here and there, Banks is constantly kept in the media spotlight. Why? Because she’s been relied upon as a content-generating hatespeaker. A Katie Hopkins in a spandex jumpsuit.
It was thus jarring to see such a talent-light, hate-heavy act announced months ago as the headliner of Born & Bred – sat atop a line-up packed with brilliant UK talent from Wiley to Lady Leshurr. How could someone with such a flimsy back catalogue headline a festival? That misgiving aside, we’re infinitely proud of the organisers – promoters Found and London radio institution Rinse FM – for wasting no time in cancelling her today.
All the more reason to go to the festival – read more about Born & Bred.