Azealia Banks has jumped back into the ongoing conversation about who can use the N-word.
On Saturday, June 21, the rapper responded to a tweet from fellow artist Anycia, who wrote, “If u not Black. stop saying n***a. period. idk why that’s so hard??? idc who u grew up with. if u NOT Black expand ur vocabulary.”
Banks, never one to hold back, clapped back with her own take, suggesting that “everyone in the world can say and do what they want,” reigniting debate over the controversial topic.
Azealia Banks is stirring up conversation once again, this time doubling down on her stance about the N-word and who gets to use it.
In a tweet posted Saturday, the 34-year-old rapper wrote, “No. Everyone in the world can say and do what they want and Black people really have no reason to be upset about it as offensive while we run around calling each other such an ugly word because we can’t expand our vocabulary. If we want people to let it go, we have to do so first.”
She continued, “African people do not use that word,” making a clear distinction between African Americans and Africans in her argument.
Banks’ tweet was in response to fellow rapper Anycia, who had earlier posted, “If u not Black. stop saying n***a. period. idk why that’s so hard??? idc who u grew up with. if u NOT Black expand ur vocabulary.”
Anycia’s post appeared to be a reaction to comments made by That Mexican OT during his interview on Angela Yee’s Lip Service podcast. He defended his use of the word, saying, “What the fuck are you gonna do about it? And then second of all, I grew up loving these motherfuckers. I grew up fighting with them. I grew up eating with them. I grew up fuckin’ doing bad shit with them.”
This isn’t the first time the Broke With Expensive Taste rapper has made waves for her unfiltered takes on the N-word debate—and it likely won’t be the last.
Back in January, Azealia Banks stirred controversy with her bold claims about white people and the N-word.
“White people already have the okay to say the n word,” she tweeted. “The n word is the least harmful thing white people do to Black people. There’s SO MUCH OTHER shit we would like for you guys to stop doing that you clearly won’t, so what makes you think we don’t know you guys still say the n word in public and private???”
She didn’t stop there. “It’s not like white people didn’t invent the word,” Banks continued. “Jay-Z reallllllly lied to Oprah and said we ‘reclaimed’ the word. Absolutely not… The word is still property of white folk which in fact makes you lot the original, actual, and only n****rs on earth.”
She added, “If anything Black people should stop calling one another nrs and start calling you guys nrs. Because you guys really are some fuckin pink-faced ignorant pork-eating sister-titty-suckin, cousin-fuckin n****rs… Y’all are the original dindu nuffins… Damn.”
Then in April, Banks took aim at Ye after he went on an explicit rant filled with antisemitic remarks and a homophobic slur—once again making headlines for her no-holds-barred commentary.
Azealia Banks recently called out Kanye West, accusing him of hijacking her ideas and twisting them for his own narrative.
“Kanye is making no statements by once again trying to co-opt Azealia’s philosophies about the irony of having been persecuted for saying f****t by the same people who are happy to indulge in my use of the N Word,” she tweeted.
Banks went on to reflect on her own relationship with the word, revealing that her track “House is Okay” marked a turning point. It was the first song she intentionally wrote without using the N-word—and she shared that her upcoming Fantasea II album will continue that effort.
“It’s an effort that must be made and I’ll definitely slip up, but I’m consciously and actively trying to quit the N word so much,” she said. “It’s so low vibrational and really can be such a lyrical crutch for the contemporary Black creative.”
She added that she draws inspiration from earlier generations of Black artists: “I really do yearn to be as good as Black artists were in the ’70s and ’80s. And if you pay attention—when the N word became ‘ok’ to use in music—Black culture started taking a nose dive. ‘House is Okay’ is my attempt to restore the crumbling house, before the foundation really collapses in.”
Banks closed her thoughts by calling the word “very addictive,” but emphasized, “Words are power and I don’t want what it brings anymore. I’m so serious.”
