NEWS: Weave Advocates Azealia Banks x Lady Gaga Team Up

Azealia experiments with hair accessorising, Liquorice

Earlier this week at the GQ Men of the Year Awards capped by Capital FM, Azealia Banks confirmed a collaboration with pop sensation Lady Gaga that may make the latter’s ARTPOP album.

I worked on a song for her. I don’t know if it will make her record. I hope it will, but we’ll wait and see. 

Azealia is somewhat of a lyrical athlete: rapid and ready to run beats she has in firm control, ad-libs that serve as limbering up to shoot sharp tongued raps. A prolific musician with fashion thirst Gods by her side - aspects Gaga is no stranger to. Banks has also recently secured a limited edition Yung Rapunxel lipstick with M.A.C. featured in her 1991 video:

Graeme Virtue for The Guardian purports AB as something of the Disney princess, Fantasea mixtape

Yung Rapunxel and Mother Monster, respectively

Nodding to her alias with further references in her tour The Mermaid Ball, Banks assures she would make a fitting weave apprentice to the sisterhood of bastardised Disney acts, giving spearheaders Gaga and Nicki Minaj a run for their money. Regularly donning and Tweeting hair pieces at least 30 inches, the young Harlemite weave enthusiast that frequently odes hair maintenance seeks to elongate and dip dye as a mark of status where Gaga re-imagines weave concepts altogether. Sealing the unknown track on ARTPOP’s 2013 release will boost Banks into further standing in fashion with Gaga’s co-sign. Anyone else anticipating the charted proof and weave rivalry between these two?

NEWS: The Africa Express Musicultural Festival on Wheels

Musical politics on The Africa Express

Today The Africa Express rolls into London, a train carrying musicians from both the African and Western sphere. Having toured Middlesbrough, Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol, Gorillaz and Blur frontman Damon Albarn is leading the crew of over 80 musicians back to Kings Cross.

Kano, Paul McCartney & Damon Albarn

Arriving at the point of multiculturalism, the creatives coming out of their respective genres including Hip Hop, Rock, Afrobeats and Electronic have all mixed, jammed and caboosed in the name of musicianship. Achieving influence from environment including schools, factories and shopping centres, the forged musical assortment has built a platform to display genuine artistry.

Cotching within the festival on wheels are the UK’s own Afrikan Boy and Kano part of the West collective, met by reps of Africa Tony Allen and Nneka. Spontaneity, mash-ups and relentless advertising of diversity are clear. It almost reads like a bunch of musicians re-living their glory days that are too real for this gimmick stuff. Shame it’s sponsored by London 2012. Screams post-racist Britain but makes you wonder if there’s a class system in place among the carriages. But I suppose the point is if Rizzle Kicks can manage to vibe well with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble or land a successful soundcheck with Femi Kuti, then genre crossovers should be a thing not reserved only for remixes and diversity campaigns.

www.africaexpress.co.uk