Azealia Banks

Azealia Amanda Banks, born on May 31, 1991 in Harlem, New York, studied performing arts in her teens. However, years later, acting brought her some disappointments, which left her with an alternative to pop music, flirting with styles such as R&B, rap and house. 

Under the name Miss Bank$, she released her first recording online in February 2009, "Gimme A Chance". Soon after, "Seventeen" was released, a track produced by DJ Diplo, which samples the song of the same name by the British band Ladytron. 

Banks signed with XL Records and began working with producer Richard Russell, who also owns the label. However, conflicting ideas caused Banks to leave XL. In 2010, returning to perform as Azealia Banks, she released the song "L8R" and a cover of "Slow Hands", a song by Interpol. The following year, she released her first official single, "212", which received significant coverage in publications such as Pitchfork, BBC and NME.

In March 2012, Azealia Banks released the EP 1991 through Interscope Records. Later that year, she moved to London to work on her first album with Paul Epworth, a producer known for his work with artists such as Kate Nash, Bloc Party, Florence and the Machine, Adele, among others.

Due to conflicts with the record label, the first album, titled Broke with Expensive Taste, was only released in November 2014 through online music stores.