Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks was born on 31st May 1991 in New York City in New York. Her father passed away from pancreatic cancer when she was only two years of age. She, along with her two sisters, was raised by her mother. Her mother was physically and verbally abuse, as stated by Banks later, and would hit Banks and her sisters with baseball bats and bang their heads against walls. She moved out of her mother’s home when she was only 14 and started living with her older sister.

She developed an interest in music and acting at a very young age. She never finished high school and decided to become a musical artiste.

Banks is bisexual. Not much is known regarding her dating life, though she was said to be dating Jesse Bradford in 2015.

Azealia Banks began her acting career with musicals such as ‘City of Angels’. She later auditioned for various TV shows though she was unable to find success. Thus, she decided to pursue a career as a recording artist instead.

She initially released some of her tracks online, after which she signed with XL Records. However, she left them soon due to conflicting ideas. She next used YouTube to upload several of her works.

She released her debut single ‘212’ in September 2011. It proved to be a success, reaching several charts. It peaked at the 14th position in the Netherlands, the 12th position in the UK, and the 7th position in Ireland. The same year, she was also featured in ‘Shady Love,’ a track from the album ‘Magic Hour’ by the American band Scissor Sisters.

Her first mixtape ‘Fantasea’ was released in 2012. Though it failed to impact any charts, it was met with positive reviews. Her first EP ‘1991’ was released in May 2012. It stood at the 133rd position on the US Billboard 200 and entered various other charts as well.

She eventually released her debut studio album ‘Broke with Expensive Taste’ in 2014. It found commercial success and entered various charts including the US Billboard 200, where it stood at the 30th position and the UK Albums chart, where it stood at the 62nd position. The album was met with mostly positive reviews.