‘Bye ugly’: Azealia Banks accuses RuPaul of ‘ripping-off’ her track
Azealia Banks performs live. (Photo by Cassandra Hannagan/Getty Images)
Controversial rapper Azealia Banks has accused RuPaul of “ripping-off” one of her songs – and claims she got the drag icon’s track removed from Spotify.
The outspoken music artist blasted RuPaul in a series of strongly-worded tweets, claiming the drag star’s song ‘Call Me Mother’ copies her track ‘The Big Big Beat,’ which is taken from her 2016 mixtape Slay-Z.
Tagging RuPaul on Twitter, Banks told him: “You will not step on my little black girl toes bitch. You will take your razor bumps and pumps to the nearest laser hair removal clinic and seethe.”
She alleged that the drag icon was now trying to contact her because she had started legal action over the song.
(cheapyxo/Twitter)
“Lol now that I’m filing claims RuPaul wants to reach out,” Banks wrote.
“But where was that energy when you were stealing my work and using me as inspiration for your campy ass television show? I’m disappointed in him first and foremost as a black person. He was supposed to have my back.”
Bank’s track ‘The Big Big Beat’ itself features an uncredited sample of The Notorious B.I.G.’s voice.
She also claimed that ‘Call Me Mother’ would be “coming down very soon” from iTunes. The song is still currently available on the Apple platform.
RuPaul’s ‘Call Me Mother’ and the 2016-released album the track appears on, called American, do not currently appear to be listed on Spotify. PinkNews has contacted Spotify for comment.
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Banks is well known for making loaded and contentious statements on her social media channels.
In January last year, the rapper said she “would love” to play at the then-president elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
She wrote on Facebook: “Saw the entertainment line for the inauguration it made me very upset. This is an EPIC moment in modern history and it should def be celebrated in style. I would love to perform at the inauguration.”
(cheapyxo/Twitter)
Banks was also banned from Twitter in 2016 after comments she made about One Direction singer Zayn Malik – who she referred to as a “faggot”, a “sand nigga”, a “d**k rider” and a “paki.” Banks identifies herself as bisexual.
However, Banks, who has referred to the LGBT community as the ‘gay white KKK’ in the past, later said she will no longer say the word’ faggot’
She had lost a string of bookings after the Malik row, and wrote on Facebook in June 2016: “OK, i’m never saying the word F****T ever again.
“The amount of people that get hurt when i use the word vs. the amount of people I’ve said it to are just not worth it. Honestly… This isn’t a cop out, its just me realising that words hurt.
“While I may be immune to every word and be thicker skinned than most, it doesn’t mean that I get to go around treating people with the same toughness that made my skin so thick.”
You can listen to both tracks in the videos below:
