Azealia Banks

Singer and songwriter Azealia Amanda Banks was born on May 31, 1991 in Manhattan, New York. The youngest of three children, Banks was raised in Harlem by her mother after her father died of cancer. As a teen she initially pursued a career in acting only writing raps and song lyrics as a hobby. But when XL Records took notice of her single "Gimme a Chance" in 2018, she signed a development deal and took off as a recording artist. Her debut single, "212" (2011) drew international attention and would come to be widely known as one of the defining songs of the 2010s. In quick succession, Banks then released the EP "1991" and the mixtape "Fantasea" in May and July of 2012. Although she began collaborating with many artists, several song and record ideas fell by the wayside due to conflicting interests or outright feuds. Banks maintained an unabashedly fiery social media presence which, at times, gained her as much attention as her musical talents. After disagreements with various record labels delayed its release, Azealia Banks dropped her debut album "Broke with Expensive Taste" in November 2014. She would eventually start her own independent record label company: Chaos & Glory Recordings in 2017. Returning to acting, she took a role as the leading character in the musical drama "Love Beats Rhymes" (2017), directed by RZA.