Azealia Banks Demands Music Industry Provide Health Insurance
Written by SOURCE on April 10, 2021
Azealia Banks took to Instagram hours after the death of DMX to discuss an issue pertaining to the late rapper, who she said was “crying out for help.”
Banks accuses the music industry of attempting to sabotage an artist by profiting as much as possible without considering their well-being, adding, “You have somebody like DMX, who, for so long, was crying out for help, crying out for fucking help. Letting people know that he needed help, legitimate help.”
Banks saw similarities with DMX in her own career, but she has only recently started to gain some positive traction.
“There have been a lot of times in my career where I’ve had fans, like ‘Azealia, go get help,’ ‘Go to the therapist,’” Banks said. “But guess what, I couldn’t afford to go see a fucking therapist because I had business managers, lawyers, managers, record labels, everybody stealing my fucking money. Weaving this fucking web that is impossible to fucking penetrate.”
Banks, who considers DMX among her biggest inspirations, centered her message around a culture where enablers surround an artist, whose biggest concern is their fans, their connection with them, and how their music translates to them, only to try and pad their own pockets, and going as far as waiting to cash in on their death. Banks believes looking out for an artist starts by providing them with quality health insurance.
“I’m saying this to record labels, if you guys are going to sign people into these lifelong contracts where they are offering up their fucking intellectual property, health insurance, and the top health insurance has to be a no-motherfucking-brainer,” Banks said. “The health insurance coverage needs to last for the artist’s entire lifetime.”
Watch Banks’ message in its entirety below.
