✨️Brown-Eyed Girl⚘️
Azealia Banks might not be a household name—yet somehow, everyone knows her. Whether it's her chart-climbing singles, her chaotic tweets, or that now-legendary story about getting trapped in Elon Musk’s mansion (yes, that really happened), Banks has a way of inserting herself into the global conversation. She’s part music prodigy, part internet myth, and all drama. And as of this week, she's trending again—just type her name into Google Trends and watch the graph spike like a synth line...
Let’s talk music, because despite the headlines, Banks has serious talent. Her 2011 debut single, 212 (from the 1991 EP), is an explosive blend of hip house, electro, and rapid-fire flow. It didn’t just put her on the map—it redrew the map entirely. Her voice flips from sweet to sinister within seconds, like she’s daring you to keep up. It hit the Billboard charts with no major label backing at the time, powered almost entirely by word-of-mouth and blog buzz. Today, 212 still sounds futuristic.
Then came her full-length debut, Broke With Expensive Taste (2014), which finally gave fans a genre-defying body of work. It’s packed with grime, trap, bounce, and even jazz-inflected pop—but somehow never feels chaotic. Standouts like Luxury, Ice Princess, and Wallace cemented her as a sonic shape-shifter. The album cracked the Billboard 200, and critics didn’t just like it—they respected it. This is the work of someone who doesn’t just dabble in genres—she dominates them.
Here’s her official discography for the record:
EPs:
■ 1991 (2012)
■ Fantasea (2012, mixtape but considered a landmark)
Albums:
■ Broke With Expensive Taste (2014)
■ Fantasea II: The Second Wave (TBA) – long-delayed, often rumored
■ Slay-Z (2016, mixtape)
Notable Singles:
▪︎ 212
▪︎ Liquorice
▪︎ Yung Rapunxel
▪︎ Anna Wintour
▪︎ Count Contessa
But for every praise-filled review, there’s a controversial headline trailing behind her. Azealia Banks has feuded with half the industry. She’s accused of being misunderstood, brilliantly self-aware, wildly inflammatory—or all three at once. Recently, she’s inserted herself into the Taylor Swift vs. Beyoncé cultural showdown, coming out strong in favor of Queen Bey. In classic Azealia fashion, she’s dubbed Beyoncé, “the true Queen of the Universe,” while tossing side-eyes at Swift's fanbase. It’s hard to tell if she’s defending the culture—or just loving the chaos.
And then, of course, there's that bizarre week in 2018 when she said she was trapped in Elon Musk’s house. While waiting to collaborate with then-girlfriend Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, Banks live-posted surreal updates from inside the tech billionaire’s home. It was part performance art, part hostage situation, and all internet gold. Nobody really knows what happened there—but it’s so Azealia.
So, is she a misunderstood genius? A performance art provocateur? Or just really, really good at keeping her name in the news?
We may never know. But while the world debates her tweets, Azealia Banks keeps making some of the most original music in hip-hop.
Maybe the confusion is the point.
