Angel Haze and Azealia Banks are both trendy, blog-y rappers known for speaking their minds. On Thursday, "speaking their minds" meant hurling insult after insult at each other on Twitter and, in Haze's case, in a song.
The blow-by-blow on Haze and Banks' Twitter feeds is worth a read, but essentially, Banks starting things off by saying she's tired of non-New York artists trying to represent or claim the city as their own:
UPDATE: Haze has apologized for "coming off as a bully" in a YouTube video:
The original article follows below.
Though there was no mention of Haze, the excitable rapper clearly took offense, firing off a string of now-deleted tweets attacking Banks -- who responded by accusing Haze of jealousy and being sexually attracted to her. Things got progressively worse, with Haze commenting on Banks' skin color (and apologizing) and calling the "212" rapper "azebra":
Haze then released "On the Edge," a Diplo-produced diss track that rips into Banks (listen above). She claimed she wrote it in "20 minutes," though a Banks fan produced evidence to the contrary. According to Banks, Diplo called and distanced himself from the song:
In the end, Banks said it's all for the better, and that she has a song coming out at noon. Here's the track:
Haze takes this round, at least when it comes to the songs. She also vowed to record another track "in 30 minutes" and suggested their feud extends beyond Twitter:
Though celebrity feuds that play out on Twitter are often entertaining, it's disheartening to see two talented young performers tear each other down like this. Haze and Banks represent a new generation of fresh-faced and lucid female MC's who have taken hip-hop places it hasn't been before. Banks performs at fashion events around the world and Haze's recent work is so searingly honest that it makes listeners catch their breath. Both rappers have also worked with electronic dance music producers to release tracks that blend rap and dance.
As Haze herself pointed out, they used to be buddies. Hopefully one day they can drop their smartphones and get in the studio together.