Azealia Amanda Banks is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings when she was 17 years old. In 2011, her single "212" went viral and entered several international charts. Banks subsequently signed with Interscope and Polydor Records.

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Banks has released two mixtapes (Fantasea in 2012 and Slay-Z in 2016), one studio album (Broke with Expensive Taste in 2014), and one extended play (1991 in 2012). Her long-delayed second studio album, Fantasea II: The Second Wave, awaits release; the lead single, "Anna Wintour", was released in April 2018. In 2017, Banks had her feature-film debut in Love Beats Rhymes, receiving positive reviews for her performance as lead actress in a film also featuring Common, Jill Scott and John David Washington.

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Throughout her career, Banks' social media presence and outspoken views, specifically regarding U.S. politics and race, have attracted significant controversy, criticism, and media scrutiny. Source.