Why US rapper Azealia Banks hates Australia
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Outspoken rapper Azealia Banks has declared herself fed up with playing in Australia, condemning the audiences as belligerent.
Her denunciation of the country came after her feud with white Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, whom Banks accused of cultural exploitation by affecting an African American accent.
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Banks performed Saturday at Splendour in the Grass, an annual festival in the Australian winter held in the eastern beach town of Byron Bay.
Banks did not take it lightly when an Australian radio host, Paul “Browny” Brown, sarcastically congratulated her for completing a full performance in the country.
In 2013, she walked off stage at a Melbourne festival when she was hit by a can of beer.
“You guys are terrible crowds to play for. You’re violent and belligerent and I simply will not put my safety at risk,” Banks wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
“I would’ve walked off stage had someone thrown something,” she wrote.
“Plus you guys are too far away and honestly, the show guarantees are never really worth the trip.”
Australia gotta chill with these sharks yall need to call crimestoppers on them lol
— AZEALIA BANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) July 25, 2015
Banks has enjoyed critical acclaim for tracks such as the racially and sexually charged ‘212’ but has been known in popular media more for her blunt views.
Iggy Azalea – mocked by Banks as “Igloo Australia” – has steered clear of the latest episode. Earlier this year Azalea said she was taking time away from Twitter following a number of heated exchanges.