Azealia Banks Leaves Twitter, Denounces Rap Career

[NelsonG]

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy, with reporting by Nadeska Alexis (@neweryork)

Azealia Banks has stirred up plenty of controversy in the past few weeks via her Twitter account, but now the outspoken rapper has deleted her social media account, after condemning the "rap game" and announcing that she will remain focused on being a singer from now on.To limit her accessibility to her detractors, Banks shifted from her Twitter profile to a Tumblr blog on which she wrote under the headline "No longer wishing to be a rapper": "i never was. ... and as soon as i started paying attention to bullsh-- urban media, i started getting myself in trouble. From now on i'm a vocalist, and will not be associating myself with the "rap game"... or whatever the f--- that means ... no more twitter for me ... it makes me entirely too accessible. Catch me on tumblr ... it'll be more interesting."

Banks has often leveraged social media and the digital sphere to highlight grievances in her career, including a high-profile bout with fellow artist Iggy Azalea. The back-and-forth Twitter jabs caught the attention of Azalea's mentor, T.I., who back in April shared his displeasure over Banks.

"That's a bitch sh--, I'm a man. You ain't got no business addressing me. Get your man to address me, if you got a man, get him to address me and he and I can speak on it," T.I. told a Chicago radio station.

Just last week, Banks told MTV News that she had no issue with Twitter and saw the platform as a forum for discussion as well as fuel for her fans.

"Rap dudes, keep talking sh-- and I'ma keep popping sh--," she said confidently. "Thank you for participating in my success!" When asked if she would always be a controversial artist, Banks responded, "I'm just reactive and I say what I have to say and I keep it moving. ... It's not going to change."

Banks released her 1991 EP, including the track "Jumanji," last month and her upcoming Fantastic mixtape is set for release this summer.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/06/11/azealia-banks-leaves-twitter-quits-rap-career/]View the full article[/url]