The Cardi B and Azealia Banks Feud, Explained

Azealia Banks is not one to hold her tongue. The 26-year-old rapper has a long history of public disputes, having voiced her outspoken views on everyone from Beyoncé to Zayn Malik to Sarah Palin. (It’s an eclectic group of victims, we know.) Her latest target of her “opinions”: social media’s favourite unfiltered hit-maker, Cardi B. A heated back-and-forth between the two candid female rappers kicked off over the weekend, eventually leading Cardi to delete her Instagram account and turn her Twitter account to private. To which we responded: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CARDI, COME BACK!

What savage insult could cause Cardi to abandon the very force that skyrocketed her to fame? Was it when Banks called her untalented? Was it when she called her identity into question, accusing her of cheapening pop culture’s conversations about black women? Or, was it when she called her “a big toe with a Hammernail without all of that contour on your face”? For all that drama and more, keep reading…

The Interview

On Friday’s episode of US radio show The Breakfast Club, Banks was prompted to comment on why she had previously called Cardi B an “illiterate hood rat”. She went on to call Cardi B a “caricature of a black woman” who “lowered the bar”.

“Two years ago, the conversation surrounding black women’s culture was really reaching an all-time high,” Banks said, referencing Beyoncé’s Lemonade. “There was just this really, really, really intelligent conversation going on nationally and then everything just kind of changed and then it was like Cardi B.”

“I’m just talking about this caricature of a black woman that black women themselves would never be able to get away with,” Banks said. “Like, if my spelling and grammar was that bad, I’d be cancelled. If Nicki Minaj spelled like that, we would be ragging on her all day.”

The Response

After the interview circulated online, Cardi B took to Instagram to defend herself. In a series of now-deleted Instagram posts, Cardi responded to Azealia’s comments. In one post, Cardi accuses Azealia of “belittling black women,” referencing her comments on Beyoncé, Rihanna, Skai Jackson and Remy Ma. “The difference between me and you, I’ve never tried to be or represent someone I’m not,” Cardi wrote. “I’ve made it where I am for being myself, and staying true to that.”

Cardi also took to the comments section of The Shade Room’s video of Banks’ interview to further elaborate, shaming Banks for applauding Beyoncé after previously “talking shit and dragging” her across the press:

“I’m from the hood. I speak how I speak I am how I am. I did not choose to be famous people choose me! People followed me on Instagram and the people gave me a platform to introduce my talent,” Cardi wrote. “I never asked to be a example or a role model I don’t want to change my ways because I’m famous that’s why I just mind my business. This is coming from a woman that bleached her skin but want to advocate. GOODBYE. Im not apologizing or kill myself because of who I am.”

(For the record, here’s a snippet of what Banks has had to say about Queen Bey in the past: “Don’t think for a second that Beyoncé was intelligent enough to come up with any of those ideas on her own,” Banks tweeted out in 2016. “She takes food out of darker skinned women’s mouths & pretends to be inspired.”)

The Comment

Banks later responded herself in her own Instagram post, telling Cardi she was “completely missing the point” of her original comments. (She continuously insults Cardi’s appearance in her response, which kind of takes away from all of her points.)

The Last Word (for now…)

Before making her Twitter account private, Cardi B sent out one last message.

If anyone knows how to navigate social media’s rough waters, it’s Cardi. Her celebrity status will forever be linked with Instagram, but her pop culture power undoubtedly now transcends the platform. Will she be back? We can’t be sure—but we know we haven’t finished hearing from her yet.

The post The Cardi B and Azealia Banks Feud, Explained appeared first on FASHION Magazine.