Friday the 13th is a day that’s usually met with anticipation, and the most recent date last week even more so as it saw Azealia Banks’ first U.K performance since 2019. Held at London’s Brixton Academy, it was the first stop on the Harlem rapper’s mini-tour of the U.K that takes place over the upcoming weeks. Banks is an undeniable icon with a complicated public persona, controversies often take top billing above her artistry. However, with no backup dancers, special effects or any other distractions, the show placed the emphasis squarely back on her music. Poker-straight hair grazing her thigh-high boots, confidence palpable and with only a DJ to join her, Banks took to the stage, only just a little bit later than expected.
In a musical landscape where, especially for female artists, high budget performances with an emphasis on theatrics has been set as the standard, Banks’ set up was markedly minimal. Whatever the reasons behind the stripped back approach, it allowed for the focus to be on every word uttered by this formidable rapper, effortlessly repeated back by the audience without hesitation. It was a rare opportunity for Banks’ unsurpassable bars and breath control to take centre stage above the noise that surrounds her.
Within a relatively short space of time, Banks powered through a large percentage of her back catalogue; she returned to her Soundcloud beginnings and went all the way up to recent releases that are now contemporary classics. That everyone present could rap perfectly all of these tracks is testament to the chokehold Banks’ house-inflected rap has had on her fans since they first listened, and how every syllable is imprinted on their collective psyche. Without so much as a wave, Ms. Banks launched into proceedings with the dark, hypnotic Fuck Him all Night, an example of one of her more recent tracks that was granted a fast pass into modern queer canon.
Next came New Bottega, an ode to Italian fashion that was only made available to stream last year, yet had already been raised to icon status through its life online before then. Then came older tracks such as Van Vogue, Liquorice and 1991; songs that were central to the soundtracks of fans’ lives for the better part of a decade that felt euphoric when heard live in 2024 – still possessing every ounce of their intelligence, glamour and power.
This was a high octane show, the energy level of the crowd was at a dizzying height even before the introduction of dancefloor-ready tracks such as Anna Wintour and Esta Noche. It was, however, a showcase of Banks’ technical skill as much as it was a party. At points the backing track was cut completely, with Banks whipping the crowd into hysteria just as effortlessly with bars alone as a track does with a thumping bassline. In the absence of direct communication, these moments were also a chance for the audience to connect with their performer on something of a deeper level.
The show’s finale was, of course, 212, a track so ubiquitous and anthemic that it hardly needs to be described in further detail here. Needless to say, however, it provided the rowdy and nostalgia-fueled climax that was required. And, with that, Banks was gone, her exit from the stage as abrupt as her entrance.
But truly, there was no need for pleasantries. Banks did what needed to be done. This gig, and the tour overall, has provided a timely reminder of not just the power of Azealia Banks’ music but the power of her fans, and also just how many of them there are – this was only the first stop in a highly anticipated slew of performances. Now, the ball’s back in Banks’ court. We’ll just have to wait and see what transpires from a reinvigorated hunger for the music, and the music alone.
Follow Azealia Banks on Instagram
Words: Tom Keown
Cover Photo Credit: Matthew Baker via The Telegraph
Article Photo Credit: Joseph Okpako and Lorne Thomson via Getty Images
Image removal upon request