Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks are two hip-hop artists who are no strangers to celebrity feuds. Banks is notorious for feuding with a long list of industry personalities, from Rihanna to Rita Ora. And just a few months ago, the two announced an upcoming collaboration. It was supposed to be symbolic of the end of their feud. But as things stand, it will never see the light of day, as apparently, according to Banks, Def Jam is no longer releasing singles for the “Switch” singer.
So what was the cause of their feud? During an interview on Hot 97 in 2014, Banks made her views known on the controversial 2014 Grammys. Racism was one of the main agendas brought up by hip hop fans and artists alike. This was following the nomination of artists like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who won Best Rap Performance (“Thrift Shop”), Best Rap Song (“Thrift Shop”), and Best Rap Album (“The Heist”) categories.
The two were generally perceived to be more pop artists than rap stars by the hip hop community. This prompted race allegations on social media in relation to the awards. Iggy was also nominated for a Grammy, which didn’t go down well with Banks. She attributed her nomination to the color of her skin.
Iggy Azalea responded to this with a series of tweets, pointing out that there were many successful black artists in the field, and that the only reason why Banks hadn’t succeeded was because of her negative attitude. She also added that politics and racism were just excuses that Banks wanted to make up.
The exchange ended after a branch of the Anonymous hacker group threatened to release an Iggy sex tape if she didn’t apologize to Banks. She has since kept out of the feud. And just recently, Iggy announced on social media that Banks would be featured on her album, Digital Distortion.
However, the new album has been dogged by delays. Speculations as to why Def Jam is procrastinating its release include general low album sales and declining marketability. Iggy’s most recent songs, “Mo Bounce” and “Switch,” failed to make it to Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, an aspect that may have affected the label’s decision to release it this month, as reported by Hip Hop DX .
[Featured Image by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Univision]