Earlier this week, rapper and songwriter Azealia Banks voiced her discontent with her #VIBEMagazine cover featuring #Diplo from over a decade ago.
She revealed her confusion about the collaboration and accused Diplo of inappropriate behavior when she was 17.
Azealia Banks said,
“I was very confused when I was called by Vibe magazine and being told that I was going to be on a cover with Diplo. … I don’t even have any Diplo songs. Do any of us even know any Diplo records?”
She continued,
“Do you know like, the types of terrible f*cking things Diplo used to do to me when I was 17 and broke. … You don’t know your right foundation color yet and all type of sh*t like that. I was a little *ss f*cking girl. … Do you know the type of just f*cking like, racist, demeaning sh*t that ni**a would do to me.”
Banks claimed Diplo pressured her into sex by promising music beats, engaged in racist and demeaning behavior, and left her alone in hotel rooms without allowing her to order food.
She emphatically rejected the narrative that Diplo discovered her, stating she was actually found on #MySpace by someone else.
The referenced VIBE Magazine cover dates back to 2012 when Banks appeared with Diplo for the August/September issue.
This isn’t the first time Diplo has faced accusations regarding inappropriate relationships with younger Black women, as in 2020, he was revealed to be living with 19-year-old TikTok creator Quenlin Blackwell.
He later clarified that their relationship was purely a landlord-tenant arrangement.
In her Instagram rant, Banks not only expressed dissatisfaction with the VIBE cover but also shed light on power dynamics and alleged mistreatment within the music industry, particularly concerning the exploitation of young artists and the need for accountability.
