Source: WENN

21-year-old Azealia Banks is no stranger to Twitter beef. To be perfectly honest, there a lot of people who don’t know her for her actual occupation, which is a rapper/entertainer. Instead, many only know her for having diarrhea of the mouth and her infamous social media squabbles with other celebs. In 2013 alone, the Harlem emcee has made headlines for using her Twitter page to blast Rita Ora, deeming her as a “Rihanna understudy,” telling rapper A$AP Rocky that he needs to “come out of the closet” and  justifying her use of derogatory gay slurs. And that’s just in 2013, not even counting previous issues she’s had with T.I., Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim, Iggy Azealia, Jim Jones and a host of others. Basically she’s been doing the most and many have expressed concern that her sharp tongue could be irreversibly damaging her budding career.

It appears that the “212″ rapper’s management team may have shared similar concerns because according to The YBF,  Azealia has turned her Twitter account over to be managed by her label. While this is may be bad news for fans and Twitter users who follow the rapper just so that they can watch drama unfold, this is probably one of the best decisions that Azealia has made in awhile. We can’t say that it will do much for her short temper, but it will serve as somewhat of a barrier, keeping her from tweeting before she really takes time to think the damaging messages that she tweets out for her 344,865 followers to see.

There’s been no word on whether or not any of her other social media accounts have been turned over to Universal Music Group as well, but she appears to still be managing her own Instagram account.

What other celebs do you think should consider having their social media pages managed by their labels?

Source(s): WENN, Shutterstock

It appears that 24-year-old Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky got way more than he bargained for when he decided to offer his two cents on dark-skinned women and their choice of lipstick color. In case you missed it, the outspoken New Yorker expressed during an interview that he didn’t find red lipstick to be attractive and dark-skinned women and that only fair-skinned women could get away with rocking a red lip.

A$AP was blasted by women across the web almost immediately for his ridiculous and unwarranted comment. Even fellow Harlem emcee Azealia Banks went after the rapper, telling him that he needs to just “come out of the closet” already.

Now, almost two months later, Rocky has decided to respond to harsh criticism he’s received as a result of his comments. In an interview with 93.9 WKYS, he said that Black women are super sensitive when you comment on their appearance and dramatically claimed that Black girls seemed like that were ready to “Rick Ross boycott him.”

“Black girls just, ah man, went crazy. They just took it how they took it. This is actually my second time talking about it cause I really don’t really look at it as an issue. If people get upset at that I think it’s petty at the same time. It’s like they d*mn near wanna Rick Ross boycott me right now, over some lipstick controversy. Black girls, you know how sensitive they are, but they our sisters man. It is what is man. I come from a Black home, so I know how sensitive Black women can be. Especially when you talking about they looks or something like that. You can’t say nothing about they glasses, they nails, none of that because then you’re a womanizer or you’re a racist. I don’t know how I’m going to be racist. I have to wake up and look at my black a** in the mirror everyday. It’s like, what are you talking about? But it is what it is, man. I’m proud to be Black.”

Clearly, he still doesn’t get it.

Turn the page to watch A$AP’s interview. 

Is it just us or are celebrities these days making more headlines with Twitter shade than talent? These celebrities have made drama and pot stirring part of their personal brand.

We told you a few days ago how Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky, in an interview with The Coveteur, shared his beauty advice with women (yes, he’s a man) and got a pretty negative response for it after saying that only light-skinned women (no, he’s NOT a light-skinned black man or woman) should walk around wearing red lipstick. His comments went something like this if you forgot:

“I feel like with the red lipstick thing it all depends on the pair of complexion. I’m just being for real. You have to be fair skinned to get away with that. Just like if you were to wear like—F**king for instance, what do dark skin girls have that you know fair skinned girls can’t do…Purple lipstick? Naw, that looks stupid on all girls! Purple lipstick, guys! Like, what the F**k.”

I think we can all agree unanimously that that was a major FAIL on his part. And out of all the women who felt some kind of way about his comments, female rapper Azealia Banks (who loves us by the way…naw, I’m just kidding!) took the comments personally, seeing as she wears red and purple lipstick, and had her own plum shade called Yung Rapunxel while doing a collaboration with MAC last year. She took to Twitter on multiple occasions in the last day or so to let it be known that she took her fellow Harlem MC’s opinions personally…

Lol @ asap rockys lipstick advice.

Some people should just come out of the closet.

Guess some people weren’t feeling her first couple of comments, because she talked about his comments again today and responded to them. And then spoke her opinion a few more times in the last few hours.

So rocky takes a direct blow to my image about dark skin and purple lipstick, then as soon as I’m a offended …. I’m the bad guy.

Typical day in the life of AB.

That comment was so hurtful. Like hurtful beyond measure. Coming from him especially……

It made me cry. It did.

Especially since rocky stole my hair style from the 212 video …..

I remember these dudes when they didn’t even have haircuts and cabfare….

Veeeery interesting. According to A$AP, Banks used to date a member of the collective A$AP Mob, and even if she didn’t, Harlem isn’t that big, so I’m sure that they did know each other well before we knew anything about these two in the industry. Hence her last Twitter comment. And while she hasn’t said much about him before his misguided lipstick advice, he’s had plenty to say about her. He told Rap-Up last year that she needed to quit with all the beefs:

“I like her for what she’s worth. I do think she gotta chill out with the beefin’ and all that other stuff and disrespecting the O.G.s. She the homegirl, so it ain’t nothin’ but a little talk to her. I think if she stays out of trouble, she’ll have longevity.”

Well, she’s coming for you now, your lipstick advice, sexuality, AND your hair, bruh! Oh the drama…

What do you think of her comments about his own comments?

Credit: Shutterstock

If you’re an R&B/Hip-Hop music lover, 2013 is gearing up to be an exciting year for music. Although no album is official until it actually hits the market, let’s keep our fingers crossed that most of these do. Here are nine albums to be released this year.

I think it was late 2011 that a Hip-Hop blog called Herfection put me on to Azealia Banks. For me, I was reeled in by a song called “L8R” and “The Chill$,” but like many others, it wasn’t until I heard the track “212″ that I knew homegirl was going to be a star. The song was infectious and raw at the same time, as the chick who called her self “Young Rapunxel” due to the long weaves sent out a warning to other women in the game: “What you gon’ do when I appear?/W-when-when I premiere/B***h, the end of your lives are near/This s**t been mine, mine!” To think back on my first experience listening to that track, letting the pulsating beat and lyrics give me goosebumps, it was all so refreshing, especially at a time when I was a bit over the whole Nicki Minaj adoration, wasn’t buying into the Iggy Azalea hype  and felt as though the whole female Hip-Hop game was flatlining as a whole, especially when Lil Kim came back to do auto-tune. She could change things, I thought. After “212″ came the whole 1991 EP, and more memorable joints. I was impressed because she was bold and different and could fit in with those who were all about gritty lyricism, and the white folks who live for that dance, techno ish. Oh yeah, she was different.

But in reality, she’s not as different as I once thought. In fact, as the buzz surrounding her name becomes more centered around negativity and beef every other week, I’ve learned that Azealia Banks is like any other rapper, if not one very famous rapper in particular. 50 Cent. They both have an undeniable love for drama that goes so far that after a while, it seems they only do it for attention and not principle, and at this point, it’s pretty tired. Especially when aside from those under 25, European kids and New York fans, when you bring up her name most people can only think of her mouth and not her music. And we see where being known for your mouth and not your craft got 50 after a while…in the land of irrelevancy (and yes, you can still be rich and irrelevant, fyi).

The list of people she has been at odds with is extremely long for no reason. It includes the aforementioned Iggy Azalea, T.I., Jim Jones, female rapper Kreayshawn, female rapper Angel Haze, Perez Hilton, producer Diplo, producer Baauer (behind that damn “Harlem Shake” craze), rock band Stone Roses, Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim (though both never jumped at her bait), her ex-boyfriend and manager, rapper Young Unique and as of late, Rita Ora of course. Most of the time, when I would watch Banks try to make a fool out of a colleague turned frenemy, or rant about something, I would just think to myself, “That’s just how Azealia is! She’s a firestarter!” However, after Sunday night’s drama with Ora, and Banks exposing a private conversation between the two on her social media, I couldn’t help but sit back and think, “Wow…what an a**hole.” And I only say that because just a week or so ago, Banks posted a picture of herself all hugged up with Ora, all while throwing shade her way by captioning the pic, “Me With The Third Lady Of Roc Nation.” I couldn’t help but let the “PHONY” bells ring out in my ears…

While her beefs have often made people laugh, and the one with Hilton allegedly even helped her sell more of her singles, I couldn’t help but feel that her antics with Ora crossed a line. She looked less like the talented Harlem-ite with the slick knack for words that I had come to be a fan of, and more of a big a** bully playing into some high school s**t who needed to be knocked down a few notches. In all honesty, for all the talent she has, she hasn’t come SO far that she can start burning bridges and pissing off people in the industry over the pettiest of things. For that reason alone, I’m starting to fear that Banks’ career could come to a screeching halt before it even gets started. If she’s not coming crazy at people for claiming New York, she’s arguing with others for their use of the word “vamp,” trying to tear down artists who are way more established than her (see her one-sided beef with Lil Kim) or publicly embarrassing producers who helped her put out some of her biggest hits. Bad idea. While it’s all good to “keep it real” on folks every once in a while, you never know who the people you cut off are connected to and what opportunities they can make or break for a sista in the future because of the negative reputation someone like her relishes in having (wonder if that alleged feature she did for the new Beyoncé album is really going to come to fruition now…). And if you don’t think being labeled as “difficult” can hold you back to the fullest, just ask ya boy Terrence Howard, who has been whining about people trying to “blacklist” him for years for being hardheaded on the set and behind-the-scenes of Iron Man.

While I’ve been riding for Banks for a minute now, I can say that a part of me wanted to throw in the towel this past weekend. I’m so tired of watching women in the music industry act as though there can only be one diva and feed into extra negative a** stereotypes of black women (as she does the angry one pretty well) and women as a whole. If she used all the energy she does trying to expose people’s emails and texts via Instagram and Twitter to finish an actual studio album, she would be on the top of the Hip-Hop game. However, she’s still putting together mixtapes, calling people all sorts of b***hes on social media and scaring away some she could use in her corner. Like rapper Eve, who might have said it best when it comes to Azealia Banks as a whole: “I like her wordplay. I think she actually can rhyme, I just don’t like the drama. That bothers me.” She might be making money, but she’s not making enough to keep on this negative path and thinking the mainstream will let her in. Most musicians are two steps away from living back with their mothers, jumping on reality TV as a safety net and ending up on our Where Are They Now? lists. By all means, I get that she doesn’t give a f**k, but it might be time that she starts before she sabotages her own greatness.

Source: WENN

Now that her beef with blogger Perez Hilton and gay advocacy group, GLAAD has died down, it looks like New York emcee Azealia Banks has a new bone to pick. This time it’s with British pop singer, Rita Ora. While the origin of the rift between the youthful recording artists is unknown, Azealia’s rant implies that Rita, who is currently touring with her on the Future Music Festival tour, publicized some unflattering photos of her. Banks gave fans a play-by-play of her drama-filled weekend via her Twitter page.

“Lol Rita Ora is so thirsty. She climbed over the wall of my dancers dressing room to snap photos,”  she tweeted.

“She’s been TRYING IT on this tour man…..”

“She’s mad she’s Rihanna’s understudy.”

“Ever since I arrived on this tour Rita’s been going out of her way to try and intimidate me.”

“Taking all these candids of me when I wasn’t looking, then posting and deleting them like a weak b***h”

It seems that Azealia went even further when someone who appears to be Rita text messaged her, claiming to be innocent.  The “212″ rapper only screen grabbed the text message and uploaded the photo to Instagram with a caption that read:

“Shut up Rita Oral. @RitaOra.”

The text message reads:

“At the end of the day I don’t know who the f*** you think you are. Secondly you don’t know me. I’ve done nothing but try to be nice to you. Thirdly your dancers were talking to me. Furthermore, I’ll see you a** at the motherf***ing concert.”

It seems that Rita isn’t the only act Ms. Banks is beefing with on the tour. She is also reported to have had a moment with British group Stone Roses’s Ian Brown as well. Banks believes that the Stone Roses made a pact with the her former manager to sabotage her sets on the tour because she fired him.

“My ex tour manager made a pact with the stone roses saying they’d sabotage my set because I fired him.. And they decided to check their equipment behind me during my set,” she tweeted.

“Wow! I must really be a superstar.”

“You’ve got an established band trying to sabotage my lil rap b***h shine.”

“A bunch of old white men trying to bully a young black girl … F**k those old saggy white n***as stone roses. I wish them nothing but excrement and death.”

Her later tweets revealed that she and Ian almost came to blows back stage.

“He charged at me. We LEGIT almost got into a fist fight. I’m more rock and roll than he is. I would’ve won. It was a pretty classic moment though. Legendary if you ask me. I was a little turned on. Just a little. Not a lot,” she tweeted.

This morning, Azealia took to Twitter, reveling in the memory of her dramatic weekend.

“This weekend was CRAZYYYY … Almost had a fist fight with Ian Brown, then hopped on stage with the Prodigy 15 minutes later.”

Source: Instagram

Thoughts?

For years, there has been media speculation concerning the sexuality of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Queen Latifah, Eddie Murphy, Johnny Gill, and more recently, Raven Symone. The trip out of the closet has been a long one for African American celebrities, evident by the fact there aren’t nearly as many out and open black celebrities as there are white. We don’t often see black celebrities walking around, publicly showcasing their love like Sex and the City’s Cythia Nixon and her girlfriend; Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi; or Elton John and David Furnish. That isn’t to say that there aren’t any out African American celebrities though. In fact, we’ve got an entire list of proud gay celebrities.

WANDA SYKES

This comedian has been making people laugh since she began her  stand-up career in 1987 at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in Washington DC. She got her first big break opening for Chris Rock at Caroline’s Comedy Club, and since then she’s made a career of being an award-winning television and movie actress, stand-up comedian, and writer. Sykes publicly came out on as a lesbian in November 2008 after the passing of Proposition 8 in California.

Source: WENN

Back in January, controversial rapper Azealia Banks got into a heated word exchange with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, during which she called him the derogatory F-word that is hurtfully used to describe gays. It seems that since then, the rapper has been catching much heat over her comments, which were not well received by her gay fans. She recently took to her Twitter page to defend her use of the word.

“Everyone pretending to be so shocked and moved by the word (fa***t)… It’s like society is so bored with itself it needs to hold on to these outdated rules of what you can say and cannot say… Why has society accepted ‘ni**er’ As a colloquialism … But will not accept ‘(fa***t)’?” she tweeted.

“Everyones always acting like its f**king 1905 in this b****. What is your definition of the word foolio? (Fa***t) means coward, liar, backstabber…… Energy stealer, blood sucker. Perez tries to get every gay person all riled up when the only (fa***t) I see …….. is him. It’s really time for a cultural shift. All these leftover old world social themes we’re all still trying to hold on to are BOOORRIIING”

Back in January, GLAAD’s Associate Director of Entertainment released a statement regarding the lyricist’s comments to Perez.

“Banks’ claim that the word “fa**ot” doesn’t mean a gay male is not true. Regardless of her intent or her personal definition, what matters is the meaning given to that word by those who hear it, and the damage it causes when they do. Undoubtedly there are gay kids who follow her on Twitter who hear this word in an entirely different context. This word is used almost universally by bullies, often as part of a larger verbal or physical assault. This word hurts those kids, no matter what Banks meant by it.”

Banks has since come out publicly questioning the validity of the organization during an interview with Australian music site, Themusic.com.

“There are such bigger problems… and then you’ve got organisations like GLAAD, which are f**king complete bulls**t.”

“I mean let’s look at it, it’s gay and lesbian alliance against defamation, or whatever…. that’s what it stands for, right? I mean would you agree that homosexuals, and the homosexual community, have bigger problems than the word (fa***t), you know what I mean?”

What do you think of her defense?

Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

Nicki Minaj isn’t a young lady who’ll ever be accused of keeping her feelings bottled up. Barbie has an attitude, with mouth and Twitter rep to match, and she isn’t about to tone it down anytime soon. So in honor of Nicki’s balls-to-the-wall, I-don’t-give-a-bleep approach, we salute her 15 most outrageous, most ridiculous, most heated outbursts.