Azealia Banks‘ new interview with ‘XXL’ has set many a pulse racing today thanks to her bold and brave criticism of the music industry.
On being shut out of the game?
I’m definitely shut out from where I was, 100 percent. People are very scared to be associated with me because of, you know, the controversy, I guess the skin bleaching or the “sand nigger” or the “faggot” thing. I’m not sad about it, I’m not disappointed at the situation. I’m disappointed with myself for sure. I’m a little disappointed in them, but not really.
I guess the source of my disappointment comes from just watching lots of other men in hip-hop, just like male rappers, have their career setbacks and go through things. Or even when a Black male rapper misspeaks something… just seeing Black men go through the motions, seeing the Black mass just kind of seemingly accepting it as just an attribute of their artistry. So they’ll be like, “Kanye West is saying all that because he’s crazy” or “Okay, yeah, R. Kelly raped a girl but damn, he makes some good music.” I don’t feel like I ever got that kind of empathy. I never got those kinds of privileges, I never got those kinds of allowances, especially coming in the rap game without any real rap friends. I basically came in the building by myself. There was nobody to validate me, there was nobody to vouch for me or whatever, and I got mishandled a lot.
It made me really bitter for a very long time, very, very, very bitter, so bitter to the point that I would just kind of say things that I didn’t mean, like, “I hate Black men” and shit like that. I would just say things like that because I would just feel so misunderstood. It was all purposeful, like when T.I. was threatening me with physical violence or when Jim Jones was threatening me with physical violence. Come on, hip-hop should have said something about it, and nobody said anything about it.
Even now, you guys have this guy XXXTentacion on the [XXL] Freshman cover, but he’s tweeted about how he thinks Black women are roaches and that we should die and how dark people are roaches and we should die and shit like that. It’s discouraging, and I’m not afraid to cry about it or afraid to admit that it hurts me now, rather than just going about things the wrong way and trying to fight fire with fire.
On her feelings towards Remy Ma, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj?
I really, really like Cardi B. I followed Cardi B on Instagram before she started rapping and I was like, Oh my God, this girl just reminds me of all the girls I went to middle school with, all the girls I grew up on the block with, all the Dominican babysitters. I grew up with girls just like Cardi B. So I always thought she was funny, and when she started rapping, I was like… what is she doing? Then I heard “Foreva”and I was like, Okay, this is really fucking good, she’s not playing. Then I heard a couple other songs and I was like, Oh shit, Cardi’s not playing! And now I’m a fan of Cardi B’s music and her personality.
I like Remy Ma too, I like when her whole brand isn’t anti-Nicki. I think she gets a little carried away with that. I don’t know, maybe I like Cardi and Remy just because they sound like home. Like I know that girl, that uptown, Manhattan, Bronx girl. I think that’s why I like them the most.
On how systemic racism affects the industry?
The media itself ’cause clearly, everything is owned by White people—I’m tired of talking about White people. These media conglomerates have this socioeconomic leverage, and they can orchestrate any industry, and any story or any happening the way they want to. The music industry isn’t the only one that’s subjected to it. Hollywood is subjected to it, tech world, everybody. It’s just the media in general. I feel like it’s everyone’s biggest problem.
Even for people who are succeeding at playing the media game. They’re always crying about how they feel stifled and all that other shit. I think in the coming years, [the media] is gonna prove to be very detrimental to society’s social and psychological health.
I think the media does a lot to chastise people into… or just micro-manage people’s aggressions and chastise people into forming opinions. Especially in America, where the media is such a big part of our culture. Because we really drag ourselves down into Prozac nation on fucking steroids. But nobody cares, I’m just the Black bitch from fucking Harlem [laughs].
I’m just a Black bitch from Harlem who only puts out one song a year. I’m joking.
Sevyn Streeter has revealed that she has overcome bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts as sales of her new LP ‘Girl Disrupted’ rise on digital outlets.
I dealt with depression on a very serious level for like a year-and-a-half, and I never said anything to my fans. Obviously, my mom and my dad and my brother, a few family members, knew about it — but it was really, really hard. I wanted to kill myself, I really did. And through my family, and God and prayer, it turned around.
Stifled by the pressures of achieving success before 30, the vocalist now finds herself on a brighter path thanks to the power of God.
A lot of my depression was triggered by the fact that I’ve given my life to this music, and it’s in a good place, but it’s not exactly where I want it to be. I sacrificed a lot of my childhood for music, I sacrificed a lot of my love life for music.
If something’s making you unhappy, what can you do to change it? That went for people in my life, circumstances and situations — whether it was dealing with work, or dealing with men. I had people in my life that were bringing me more sadness than joy. … I was finally like, it’s not my fault if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today, but guess what, I don’t need you to change. These are grown people, and so am I. Nobody’s making me deal with anybody that I don’t want deal with, so I made the decision to remove myself from certain situations and certain people that made me feel … heavy.
The Trinidadian actor Lucien Laviscount continues to carve a healthy lane for himself in the competitive streets of Hollywood.
Still lauded for his role in the short-lived ‘Scream Queens’ and his contributions to the British series ‘Waterloo Road’, the thespian now finds himself soaring on the wings of cash collected by his latest picture ‘The Bye Bye Man.’
The Pop starlet set the net ablaze with comeback track ‘Praying’ and has quickly followed up with ‘Woman’ – the video for which she hatched moments ago.
Noticeably more upbeat that its predecessor, it appears the track forms part of a dual release to plug her long-awaited third album ‘Rainbow.’
The campaign comes on the heels of a hard-fought legal battle with producer Dr. Luke, who she alleges sexually assaulted her.
Hoping to put that behind her (after several setbacks), it appears Kesha just wants to have fun now.
Watch ‘Woman,’ which features The Dap-Kings Horns, below…
The blah-ness of the video aside, it’s cool to see Kesha mature her care-free Pop sound in a way that is still mass appealing but not repetitive.
Shia LaBeouf has issued an apology after telling an African-American police officer that he was going to “hell” after he was arrested in Savanah.
I am deeply ashamed of my behavior and make no excuses for it. My outright disrespect for authority is problematic to say the least, and completely destructive to say the worst. It is a new low. A low I hope is a bottom.
I have been struggling with addiction publicly for too long, and I am actively taking steps toward securing my sobriety and hope I can be forgiven for my mistakes
However, not everyone is convinced he meant any harm when he told the officer he was heading to Hades.
He said the black cop was going to hell cause he working for the white cops who don’t give a fuck about black people. I see no issue https://t.co/Vk6fY0X749
A letter penned by Madonna to the actor John Echos in the 90s has surfaced and it’s set to ruffle the feathers of Whitney Houston‘s fans.
In it, a frustrated Madonna mocks and degrades Houston’s gift and slams she and Sharon Stone offering the masses “mediocre” content.
I have made so many people angry that I’m being punished and basically made to be quiet and sit in a corner, whole other less interesting and exciting people are reaping the benefits of the roads I’ve paved.
It’s so unequivocally frustrating to read that Whitney Houston has the music career I wish I had and Sharon Stone has the film career I’ll never have. Not because I want to be these women because I’d rather die, but they’re so horribly mediocre and they’re always being held up as paragons of virtue and some sort of measuring stick to humiliate me.
I don’t think I can play the game to be accepted. I’m too intelligent, I have too much pride.
I feel like I have no career, no family, nothing permanent or tangible,” Madonna wrote.
My outlook on life is black black black that’s why I’m no good for you or anyone else right now. I have to regain my sense of power and my joy for living.
The letter goes on sale via an auction later on this week and is said to have been unearthed by Darlene Lutz who is described as “a long-time personal friend of Madonna’s from her innermost circle”.
This week, the beloved ‘Black Lives Matter’ activist Deray McKesson took to Twitter to reveal that he believed he had been slighted by the minds behind ‘Planet of the Apes.’
His tweets, which cited Hollywood’s undeniable efforts to endorse scientific racism as his cause for concern, saw him garner the support of those who felt he had been slighted by the movie.
Fortunately it wasn’t long before movie buffs took to social media to ease Deray’s fears by explaining that the character many believed had been based on his appearance was actually inspired by another set of characters in the franchise.
Things have now taken a turn for the worst. For, after teasing McKesson for not doing his research into the movie’s history before tweeting, social media has turned on Whoopi Goldberg for her supposed “eagerness” to tear him down.
Why? Her supposed habit of turning a blind-eye to veiled-racism in her industry.
Much as I love @WhoopiGoldberg she has had coon tendencies since forever. That was so out of line in my opinion. If he’s wrong, then educate
you had a global moment to educate the ENTIRE world about subtle racism in entertainment @WhoopiGoldberg and you took the payoff instead smh pic.twitter.com/4kfOU0pIZ1
— Sensible Azealia USA (@AzealiaRebelius) July 13, 2017
i think whoopi has something personal against you just by the way she reacted. u know she had to show out for white mommy and daddy smh