Azealia Banks has rebuked Beyoncé’s pivot to country music. Banks recently ranted about Beyoncé, Jay-Z and the upcoming album Cowboy Carter in a string of Instagram Stories posts.
“Wow we didn’t even try to put even a little effort into a more artistic title?” Banks wrote. “Sis I live for whiteyonce Donatella Bianca Bardot DOWN, But I’m kind of ashamed at how u switch from baobab trees and black parade to this literal pick me stuff. Like u do lame stuff like bring out some black listed white women (Dixie chicks) at the country music awards and they would never ever do the same for you. Ur always sharing ur platform with white women who are so jealous of you but have such a long history of sabotaging other black womens careers.”
Banks said Beyoncé missed an opportunity to make “pertinent cultural commentary” in favor of doing “white woman cosplay” and reinforced “false rhetoric” about country music.
Jay-Z faced the wrath of Banks as she blamed him for supposedly making Beyoncé’ “boring.” Banks gave Hov credit for his role in Rihanna’s career but claimed he failed to help Megan Thee Stallion and Rita Ora.
“Ugh I’m so saddened by Jay-Z and his overstrategizing everything beyonce to the point where it’s clearly his influence and not the real Bianca Bardot,” she wrote. “Someone tell Jayz his strategies are corny and beyonce has better ideas. Like it’s obvious why we got no burna boy action for Ja Ara E. We would like to hear some beyonce records without Jay-z on them. We would like to see her outside without him and his pound puppy dreadlocks breathing all over herrrrrrrr.”
She continued, “I’ll give it to him for turning an initially very uninteresting Rihanna into one of the worlds biggest stars but he flopped with Rita and Meg and for the sake of all things grand, should realize how much he cramps her diva style ugh. Her legacy and freedom of expression is not his to share and I wish he would get over that. Sure Jay is an important figure in music but he is not THE STAR that is Bianca Bardot…. Go somewhere n#### damn.”
Banks also dismissed Beyoncé’s comments about not feeling welcomed in country music. Banks called it “falsified victim crap” and accused Beyoncé’ of using her “capitalist advantage” against Black country artists.
“Please stop with the pity party and admit u got criticized the same way you did when you tried to slide ‘listen’ into dream girls despite it not being a part of the original score,” Banks wrote. “it’s crazy to me that all it takes is some white persons opinion for her to start tap dancing.”
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is scheduled to drop on March 29. The album is the second part of a trilogy, which began with 2022’s Renaissance.
