Record sales increase for Azealia Banks since saying Perez Hilton was a ‘faggot’ who should kill himself
US rapper, Azealia Banks’ record sales have increased drastically since she had an online argument with blogger Perez Hilton, during which she said he was a “messy faggot” who should “kill himself”.
Sales for the an EP by the rapper titled, 1991, increased by 18% over the weekend, which constitutes around 1,000 sales, reports Billboard.
The record re-entered Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart at No. 32, since her spat with Perez Hilton last week.
Her breakout single, 212, the YouTube video for which kicked off her record deal, increased by 3,000 downloads last week, which meant it was up by 3%.
Reports from some websites suggested that her record label, Interscope, had confirmed that she had been dropped as a result of the argument, but the Guardian has confirmed that this is not the case. Her spokesperson said:
“Azealia Banks is currently in the studio recording her debut album, which will be released this year through Interscope in the US and Polydor in the UK.”
The argument with Perez Hilton began after Hilton posted a criticism of Banks’s feuds with other artists. She then called him “dickbreath” and told him to “gobble a dick”.
Hilton told Banks, who last year came out as bisexual: “Some of your music is cute, but your attention-seeking ways are pathetic and hurtful. You drag while others choose to uplift!”
Banks responded: “Whatever bitch, you tried to sign me to ur little bum ass label in ’11 with them bullsshit ass artists…” She later tweeted: “omg u should just kill yourself… Like for real… lol what a messy faggot you are.”
After followers reacted badly to her posts, Banks responded by claiming: “A faggot is not a homosexual male. A faggot is any male who acts like a female. There’s a BIG difference.”
She later clarified “When I said acts like I female I should’ve said acts like a c*nt.”
GLAAD responded to the Twitter argument, and wrote on its website: “Banks’ claims that the word ‘faggot’ doesn’t mean a gay male is not true.
“Regardless of her intent or her personal definition, what matters is the meaning given to that word by those who hear it, and the damage it causes when they do. Undoubtedly there are gay kids who follow her on Twitter who hear this word in an entirely different context.
“This word is used almost universally by bullies, often as part of a larger verbal or physical assault. This word hurts those kids, no matter what Banks meant by it.”
Ms Banks seemed to get into a dialogue about her use of the word “faggot”, and responded to GLAAD’s complaint, tweeting:
“Glaad and all these others need to give it a break… Picking and choosing when to be offended….. Pfffft, as fucking if…
“As if all ‘derogatory’ words are not now in 2013, simply just expletives… Conversational Emphasis….. These words get used, in movies, books, songs, films……”
She also retweeted a complaint from fan, @Victoriousgable, who said: “Tell a kid who’s gettin called a f** on a daily basis as a means of torture that these words don’t matter & see how they react.”
Afterwards Azealia Banks tweeted: “I’ve never gotten this much attention for saying nigger.”
Banks is signed to Polydor, part of Universal Music Group. Despite her relatively modest profile in the UK, the BBC ranked her third in its ‘Sounds of 2012 Awards’.
