Artist Buzz: Azealia Banks

*UPDATE-Azealia Banks has announced via twitter that she has signed with Universal Music*

She's going to be signing with Kanye West's GOOD Music label and she's performing at this years Coachella music festival.

Check out an interview she did with By Ryan Dombal from pitchfork.com (source)

Pitchfork: What kind of rap music did you listen to growing up?

Azealia Banks: Just the commercial stuff-- I was more into musical theater and Broadway and jazz and voice lessons and going on auditions. But once I tried getting in commercials and all that weird shit I realized that wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted to be on stages. So I started fucking around with rap. Remember that remix of [Shawty Lo's] "Dey Know" with Weezy on it? That verse right there made me wanna rap, it seemed like so much fun.


Pitchfork: I feel like a lot of rappers might think musicals are corny.

AB: I guess so, but they're really fun to watch. And rap and musicals are congruent in that they're both trying to tell a story or convey a message. I still like singing way more than rapping; rapping is more like a nice tool or accessory for writing songs.

Pitchfork: You're about to sign with a label, but you've gotten pretty far without one. Have you considered a more independent route?



AB: Yeah, but for how I want to do this thing-- and I don't even really know what the fuck "this thing" is yet-- but considering how ambitious my ideas are musically, I definitely need a label that will really get it out there. I'm not really scared of major labels. I just want to work where I'm allowed to make mistakes and do my own thing rather than get into a situation where someone else has their own agenda of what they want me to be.


Pitchfork: Have you started recording your next release?

AB: Yeah. I'm moving to London next month, and me and Paul Epworth are going to bang this shit out. He's doing the whole thing. The idea is to make it fun-- not like a musical, but event-ful-- so it's not just me rapping over beats. I want to make it sound polished, because a lot of my shit that's out sounds kind of bootleg. [laughs] I'm most excited about this one song called "Licorice" that's sort of about interracial dating. I want to make feel-good music.

Pitchfork: Is it going to be a proper album or a free mixtape?

AB: Because I'm finding a label and it's becoming much bigger than I thought it would be, the ideas is: If you can make an album, maybe you don't want to give it away for free. Not to be on some "fuck you, pay me" shit, but it just makes sense. That way you can license the beats and you can own it, and other people can own it, too. I have a big feeling-- and so does Paul Epworth and everyone around me-- that this is going to be classic, in a sense. And even if it's not classic, it's going to be really interesting for music. I think. I hope. [laughs]