Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

Cardi B Deletes Her Instagram Account After Responding to Azealia Banks' Insults

By Mitchell Peters
May 12, 2018 - billboard.com (https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8455718/cardi-b-deletes-instagram-account-azealia-banks-insults-beef-feud-breakfast-club)

The feud between Cardi B and Azealia Banks has reignited -- and it's getting pretty messy.

During a visit to The Breakfast Club on Friday (May 11), the always outspoken Banks threw out some major insults about Cardi, calling her everything from an “illiterate, untalented rat” to a "caricature of a black woman."

“Two years ago, the conversation surrounding black women’s culture was really reaching an all-time high,” Banks told the radio show's hosts, referencing Beyonce's 2016 album, 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.”
Full Article : billboard.com (https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8455718/cardi-b-deletes-instagram-account-azealia-banks-insults-beef-feud-breakfast-club)


Azealia Banks Talks New Single, The State Of Female Rap, RZA, Donald Trump + More (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r17fqELkv7g#)

Cardi B Deletes Instagram & Locks Twitter After Slamming Azealia Banks

By Kyle Eustice
May 12, 2018 - hiphopdx.com (https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46824/title.cardi-b-deletes-instagram-locks-twitter-after-slamming-azealia-banks)

Cardi B and Azealia Banks’ perceived beef just got taken up a notch. After Banks chided the “Bodak Yellow” rapper for her bad grammar and spelling during her Breakfast Club interview on Friday (May 11), Cardi responded to Banks’ comments on Twitter.

Cardi then deleted her Instagram and made her Twitter account private, seemingly fed up with the drama. But before she made her exit, Cardi sent out a barrage of tweets defending herself.

“Why is it that male rappers can speak how they want act how they want but people constantly bash me for it?” she began. “Why do i feel like i have to apologize for being who i am? talking how i talk and being what ya call “Ghetto” wtff. LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Full Article : hiphopdx.com (https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46824/title.cardi-b-deletes-instagram-locks-twitter-after-slamming-azealia-banks)


(http://www.rastafarispeaks.com/bp/cardib120518.jpg)

(http://www.rastafarispeaks.com/bp/AzealiaBanks.jpg)

Some of the issues raised by Azealia Banks about colorism as it exists in the entertainment industry, including Hip Hop, is no secret: the industry demonstrably prefers light skin over black. As can be seen in most Hip Hop videos, Dark skin Blacks receive only token representation. It is quite possible that if Azealia Banks looked like a Beyoncé or a Rhianna, she would have been much more popular, and perhaps richer too. Those aspects of her comments are quite valid. Where she and I part ways is her demeaning of Cardi B to make these points.

In one of her responses, she spoke about Cardi B's use of facial contouring to appear attractive. But, why go there? Why bring up the way in which Cardi B speaks or her grammatical inaccuracies as though she should be silent?

In many respects, the media, with the complicity of Hip Hop culture, ensures that Brown skin, Light Skin and even White people are promoted over Dark-skin Blacks with more talent. If Azealia Banks and others are really concerned about who represents Black culture, then they should also look at what is being promoted within Black culture that contributes to these prejudices. Banks must also look at her own complicity in promoting Eurocentric values and ideas of beauty. We should examine the obvious weave hairstyles, skin bleaching and body augmentation that is now a trope in Hip Hop/Rap culture. None of this really encourages the appreciation of Dark-skin.

Highlighting these issues can encourage important discussions. However, attempting to shame someone because of their physical appearance or their lack of verbal dexterity to articulate in the manner of former colonisers, fuels all the wrong things that we should be fighting against.

The racism and colorism that Banks alludes to in her commentary are real issues with a long history. However, her own (very recent) anti-black/African history overshadows the legitimacy of her concern of the systemic abuse of black women.

The approach also reminds me of the conversation on Bruno Mars and cultural appropriation. Like this commentary, the conversation on Mars put the onus of changing the system on him. It might be easier to focus the blame on individuals, but it is misplaced. We cannot expect these individuals to be activists* or anymore politically correct than most people. This does not mean they are merely victims with no role at all.

*Even activists can be more about lip service/appearance than actual change.

This is an example of how the best approach to affecting change is by working on oneself. http://www.rastaspeaks.com/Rasta/consciouschange.html (http://www.rastaspeaks.com/Rasta/consciouschange.html)