Azealia Banks dropped from Born and Bred festival lineup after calling UK rap ‘a disgrace’

She also made racist and homophobic remarks about Zayn Malik

10 years ago

Bobby Palmer | Guides

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Azealia Banks has been axed from the Born & Bred festival lineup after branding UK rap “a disgrace”.

The controversial rapper made the comments in a tirade which started after she accused Zayn Malik of copying her style.

Banks also tweeted racist and homophobic comments about Malik, calling him a “faggot”.

https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/730173487365685248

In a string of tweets, Banks then turned her sights on grime, saying: “grime loses all the time. you uk rappers are way too nerdy for anyone to care”.

https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/730299689120206848

In the wake of her comments, UK artists began to demand Banks be removed from the lineup of Born & Bred festival.

The Hackney festival, which is run by Rinse FM, was due to be headlined by Banks next month.

https://twitter.com/Graciouskisay/status/730316411697045504

If she is playing Born And Bred festival, I'm boycotting it. @rinsefm

— Logan Sama (@djlogansama) May 11, 2016

https://twitter.com/MikillPane/status/730194960167874560

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https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/730309915189891072

Following the backlash, NME journalist David Renshaw tweeted that Born & Bred had pulled Banks from their line-up.

London festival Born & Bred have dropped Azealia Banks from her headline slot in June. Full story to follow…

— David Renshaw (@ddavidrenshaw) May 11, 2016

In the meantime, a conspicuous empty slot appeared between AJ Tracey and Benga on the festival’s official lineup page.

rinse

Soon after, Rinse tweeted an official statement regarding the artist’s removal from the lineup, citing their celebration of “inclusivity and equality”.