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Azealia Banks Talks apartment-impressed 'Anna Wintour' Single, 'Fantasea II' Album & State of women in Hip-Hop

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With the free up of her bopping condo-impressed new single "Anna Wintour," rapper Azealia Banks shocked even herself.
"i'm enjoying the success of it, it's somewhat brilliant -- I didn't are expecting it to circulate this quickly, i'm truly happy," Banks tells Billboard the day the music launched (April 6), quickly hitting the good 20 on iTunes' Pop chart and ceaselessly climbing.
or not it's now not without intent she's stunned. when you consider that Banks debuted along with her career-defining breakthrough "212" in 2011, her debut album Broke With costly taste, 1991 EP and mixtapes Fantasea and Slay-Z have stood within the shadow of ceaseless controversy, from spats with peers and well-documented courtroom dates to tempestuous altercations caught on video and emotional breakdowns.
but via it all, the track has remained a consistent through line: the 26-yr-historical would be the first to inform you that she's talented past her years, and she can be relevant. Banks has true lyrical wit and undeniable skill, her chameleonic movement adapting to a fanned diversity of sounds and patterns and making her probably the most experimental rap artists with such strong results.
Now, within the wake of a new deal with eOne, the Harlem native hopes to convey the center of attention lower back to the song -- even though she remains embroiled in public concerns, most lately with a neatly-publicized fallout with RZA and Instagram barbs shots taken at Cardi B.
Banks plans to unencumber her lengthy-awaited double-album, Fantasea II, this summer (it be nonetheless a work in progress), and has an eye on its observe up enterprise and Pleasure. For now, although, or not it's all about "Anna Wintour" and securing her very first mainstream chart hit.
in the beginning, you'll mentioned "Anna Wintour" was meant to characteristic Mel B and Nicki Minaj. How did the tune come collectively?
well, returned when i was signed to Interscope, Interscope commissioned Junior Sanchez to do a remix of my music "Ice Princess," from expensive style, and the working title of the song he sent over changed into "Anna Wintour." And there was this big, thumping sample in it that turned into like, [rapping] "Anna Wintour/ Let me finish." And, for a long time, i'd just play it around my house whereas I cleaned, did chores and stuff. Then, I requested him to send me the beat naked.
in the beginning, Junior Sanchez and i have been going to make a band together known as Zanzibar. i used to be going to ghost under this named called Beverly steel, and the attention patch [in the promo photo for "Anna Wintour"] become part of Beverly steel's persona. Of course, that turned into just an idea. That one went apart, and when i used to be writing the music, my choreographer Matthew Pasterisa become at domestic with me, and i kinda turned into the usage of him as a soundboard. i used to be like, "Matt, what do you suppose about this?" And he changed into like, "Oh, yeah. That sounds cool. That sounds kinda like frightening Spice." Then he goes, "you should simply get frightening Spice on the tune." and i'm like, "Whoa, that's an insane idea."
So I hit up Mel B, and she or he turned into at the beginning down, however she has received children. I have 4 canines and two cats, so i understand how busy lifestyles gets. She's just in reality busy being a mother and raising kids and doing her gig on the united states's acquired talent. She's always super-busy. by the point I obligatory to turn in "Anna Wintour," we couldn't watch for her to get to the studio. however we remained, or we corresponded with each other a bunch. It simply didn't take place. The Nicki Minaj thing changed into just absolutely a concept I threw accessible, and that i was kinda attempting to peer if I may bait it. She changed into on such hideout, such lockdown. To be sincere, I on no account basically despatched her the song, as a result of i was afraid she'd say no [Laughs]. So it changed into simply an idea. in case you take heed to "Anna Wintour," the elements that kinda that you would be able to tell where i used to be going with the conception of the tune. here's the half I wrote for scary Spice and the rap verse and stuff. It's identical to a ghost collab, kinda. You be aware of what I mean?
You mentioned how the music is kinda about discovering your self and finding God. What form of adventure have been you on that inspired you to have that strategy?
just a daily life adventure. usual woman becoming up event. everyone's obtained growing to be pains, you recognize? every person's finished some wacky shit from their teens to mid-20s. I'll be 27 in may additionally, so I believe i used to be simply naturally having a metamorphosis, exceptionally seeing that all the time I spent away from the general public eye, as a result of controversy and stuff like that. It in fact gave me time to contemplate myself and simply do what each general individual should do to grow up. Yeah, I in fact think that it changed into in those moments that I kinda linked myself to, like, simply the ether around me and just begun to consider extra comfortable on the floor. greater grounded and certain of myself as a girl, as an artist, as someone and every little thing else. 
You mentioned how Junior Sanchez produced this, however you also put "govt produced through Harvey Mason Jr." had been you relating to Fantasea II?
I'm referring to Fantasea II: The 2d Wave, now which is gonna be a double-disc. It's gonna be a remastered edition of Fantasea I with all of these cult classics on there, in addition to Fantasea II, with the entire new tracks. We're gonna press it up in vinyl and press it up in actual and, yeah, hope for the most beneficial. We're searching [to release] towards the summer time, because it's a mermaid album. It's a summer time album. We're in reality gonna carry sea-punk lower back. Sea-punk is not lifeless, ok? That's all i will be able to in fact inform you about it for now. I suppose that i'll just have "Anna Wintour" out after which i'll just drop the assignment. It's time for the mermaid to come returned out of the water. 
There became a tracklist that turned into launched a number of months in the past. How similar you feel the last undertaking is gonna be comparatively to that?
relatively equivalent. i would say about seventy five to 80 p.c an identical. Now that "Anna Wintour" is out, I'm getting just a little of artistic comments from my fanbase and stuff like that, and that's also assisting inform me, or helping inform what tracks I'm gonna stick with it the album, maybe which kinds of songs I need to add to my mission and stuff. as a result of, in fact with Fantasea II, i needed to give it extra type of like as near the primary Fantasea record. It's like a hip-hop, mainstream hip-hop record with a bit of of electronic, kinda tropical twist to it. obviously, I've been doing all this singing stuff lately. I've acquired an indie-rock song on the album, which is whatever thing I've always wanted to do due to the fact excessive school. So it'll just be more so about -- adequate, so in fact we desire it to be cohesive, nevertheless it's type of pretty much chronicling those moments that belong to the Fantasea theme, chronicl ing them thoroughly all in one vicinity. now not all in random YouTube movies and random Soundcloud and stuff like that. just to correctly inform the mermaid's story.
a few hours in the past, you posted an Instagram about how final nighttime changed into a big night for feminine rap. You've had words with Cardi B in the past, however searching past that, as with you and Cardi, there are other girls who're making noise. Are you happy with that success amongst your peers in that regard?
in reality, 100 percent. truthfully, because "Anna Wintour" is only like a dance record, I consider that for a extremely long term, girls were, notably black women, we've been fighting for this form of visibility in hip-hop, that it looks like we're now in fact getting. that you would be able to 100 percent owe that to Nicki Minaj's taking female rap and making it mainstream-mainstream to the point where it's now not simply the rapper on the track, just add a rapper kinda element, you recognize what I imply? She took the female rapper beyond a feature artist and made her a premier, leading stage artist. I in reality believe Nicki Minaj's success completely made this or made the song industry basically interested in making money, or the industrial viability of the feminine rappers. And in fact now, with all of the alternative ways that you can flow and chart, it's in fact fitting less difficult for ladies to spoil into hip-hop, which is terribly clean. 
again, you've been crucial of Cardi in the past, and the motive I convey her up is as a result of her record also just came out. It seems like what you said is referring to that. You're very vocal about your opinions, however when it comes to taking a look at her success, are you happy with it?
I consider that i am pleased with any woman who kind of picks herself up devoid of anybody's support, you understand? When the entire world knocks you down, I'm proud of any girl who picks herself up and rebuilds herself up to some thing better than she changed into before. I actually am in fact enthusiastic about this year in feminine rap as a result of I consider that it's going to in reality just shine a light-weight on female rap as an entire. especially with the industrial success of Nicki Minaj, you've got a lot of people, artists and businesses, considering that you can truly simply sort of construct these initiatives, these kind of science initiatives: get a bunch of writers, get a bunch of beats, some thing, get her a butt, get her some titties and let's make her the new Nicki Minaj.
I think over the remaining eight or so years, we've considered loads of these Nicki Minaj science projects, and all of them, they pop off for a short time after which they fade away. I guess I'm most involved to peer if the trade's desire is to try and correctly recreate this Nicki Minaj formulation. I'm extra so simply involved to see if they can do it. I don't feel they can, as a result of I simply feel Nicki Minaj is similar to a maverick. She's identical to a branding maverick, and he or she's so wise and she's so, like, clever. It's in reality complicated for individuals to kind of wrap their heads around her formulation and the way she does things as a result of she doesn't, obviously, she shouldn't tell any person her secrets and techniques. however I think I'm greater so simply interested to see if these submit-Nicki Minaj artists can exist past the first album. I'm more so simply interested to look the actual juxtaposition between these a rtists and the true Nicki Minaj, or these kinda like just-out-of-water artists and Azealia Banks, or a Kamaiyah or a person who has a little bit extra... someone who's a bit bit greater arms-on with artwork, you know what I suggest? 
"Anna Wintour" is the focus at this time. Are you gonna be placing out a video for it in the close future?
yes, actually.
have you accomplished it already?
No, I haven't performed it yet, nonetheless it's coming.
enterprise and Pleasure has all the time been within the ether as neatly. What's the reputation with that list and is it coming after Fantasea II nevertheless? 
undoubtedly, sure. presently, I'm just attempting to wrap up this Fantasea II mission and i'm just trying to jump returned in the water and swim. 
You've been round for quite a minute, so I think what you had been talking about with durability, that applies right here. 
truly. Now, it's time for me to head for the massive wins. I'm making an attempt to crack the scorching 100. I think every artist wants to crack the hot one hundred as soon as. however I crack it at, like, 70, I'll be in fact chuffed.