Azealia Banks: "I feel way safer in Florida than in Los Angeles"

The rapper told 'The Guardian' what it's like to live in Miami and discussed her relationship with Kanye West.

Rapper Azealia Banks is in luck. The artist who rose to fame in 2012 thanks to 212 is about to release New Bottega, her new song that, according to her, could be her next big hit: "I genuinely feel like, 13 years in, New Bottega might be my Hot 100 debut."

She did so during an interview with The Guardian in which she revealed to the British newspaper why she decided to relocate from Los Angeles. She said that in 2020, LA became a city where she felt "isolated and scared." She finds the city to be superficial because it focuses on protecting only part of the population:

Every which way I turn [in LA] there’s a 'Black Lives Matter' sign, and then we’re watching swathes of Latino people die every day because they’re considered essential workers. There are no 'Latino Lives Matter' signs. That’s not to negate any of the very real issues that Black people in America face, but in a rich state like California, in a neighborhood like Silver Lake – here’s Jenny with her fuc***’ like' – she adopts a Valley girl accent – 'biodynamic wine bar and her vegan cafe'. She’s got a 'Black Lives Matter' sign in the window, but sis, did you pay attention to papi who delivered the milk? Did he get a free cup of coffee? I had to go because I can’t do this – either Covid was gonna kill me, or depression. I’m going to fuc**** Miami.

Florida: her new home

She decided to move to Florida, specifically to Miami, where she discovered a much nicer city to live in. She feels "way safer" and people "mind their fuc***’ business." Part of this, she claims, may be due to the way Ron DeSantis governs, which she defines as "practical":

He’s focused on the basic shit. There are elderly people in our country without walkers, who don’t have the money to get a septic tooth pulled. If we’re talking about divvying up healthcare funds, those situations should take precedence to facial feminization surgeries and stuff like that. I mean, I get it – but that’s a cosmetic surgery. Like, does your penis work? Can you pee? You’re not as in trouble as the older woman who can’t afford her dialysis. I think DeSantis is practical about a lot of things.

Banks talks about her relationship with Kanye West

The artist also had time to chat with the English newspaper about her relationship with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. According to her, his anti-Semitic views were not the most accurate. In fact, she believes they were counterproductive for the rest of the artists who wish to express their opinion:

I feel like Kanye has made it so garbage to be an entertainer with any opinion. If anybody was ever praying for Azealia Banks to finally shut the fu** up, Kanye has provided the platform.

Azealia Banks went further and said she believes West's troubles began at a 2020 rally when the singer and his now ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, claimed they had considered aborting their eldest child:

You’re a fuc**** idiot for basically sacrificing the mental health of your daughter. Just because you can’t get attention from Kim Kardashian, you turn it on your fuc**** daughter. Kanye, you’re an abusive ass**** and you’re a pu*** for picking on that little-ass girl. You are the last person we need to hear from about Black fatherhood and the Black family unit.