Azealia Banks defends Nicki Minaj after Kanye West pressures the Barb to clear her “New Body” verse for his upcoming album.
Nicki is laser-focused on the rollout of her new album, Pink Friday 2, which earned stellar reviews from fans. Azealia isn’t pleased with what she called Kanye’s attempt to steal Minaj’s shine. As Kanye prepares to release his Vultures album with Ty Dolla $ign, he publicly pressured Nicki to clear her leaked verse for the track “New Body.”
Azealia seemingly respected Minaj’s artistic decision and came to Nicki’s defense after the Chicago rapper’s rant about her. Banks held nothing back as she tore into the controversial lyricist. On December 16, the 32-year-old took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post a series of tweets mentioning Ye.
“Okay. Now I’m really pissed the f*ck off,” she said. “Regardless of how I feel about [Pink Friday 2], did fat, smelly loser Kanye West really just try to step all over Nicki’s release? Did I hear correctly when he tried to take credit for supporting her career?????”
Banks added, “Did he forget that Lil Wayne and Young Money [Records] supported her, believed in her, and shared their money, time, and resources with her to launch a female rapper to international icon status? Has Kanye ever successfully launched any artist he hasn’t sabotaged out of jealousy?”
Banks’ rants usually draw “Girl, shut up” energy as she unnecessarily inserts herself into other celebrities’ business, leaving fans divided. However, this time, social media supported Azealia’s perspective.
The “Anna Wintour” rapper claimed Kanye had halitosis from bad dental work following his 2002 car wreck and called him “an out-of-shape man-child.”
“I’m sorry but I’m f*****g irate right now. Do you guys know that Kanye West has intense halitosis due to the poorly done dental reconstruction he needed after his car crash?” Azealia posted. “He has food stuck all up and under his veneers you can smell it standing 6 ft away.”
After a few more searing tweets the “1991” rapper typed, “So you were too good to do a sneaker collaboration with Nicki but now want to pop out when she’s showcasing her new work to release a song you asked her to make more *holy* then turned around and collaborated with her enemy who you ALSO bad mouthed?”
She added, “Then bad mouth her in a room full of absolute nobodies?! He must be smoking crack. What a pitiful pitiful excuse of a man. And a pathological liar too.”
Banks concluded her rant by demanding Yeezy apologize to the Queen Radio host.
The “Barbie World” rapper had a much calmer approach when it came to the matter. She took to IG Live to explain why she had no interest in clearing the “New Body” verse.
“Now, when it comes to Kanye, that ship has sailed, alright?” she said. “I mean no disrespect at all. I just released a fresh album. Why would I drop a track that’s been out for three years? Let’s be real, guys.”
Ye has now pushed his album with Ty Dolla $ign to New Year’s Eve. Maybe he’s hoping to change Nicki’s mind. Yet, Nicki already made it clear that it’s a waste of time.
Pink Friday 2 is available on all streaming platforms.