Azealia Banks Says Move To Tel Aviv She's Been The Most ‘Creatively Enabled’ In Years

Azealia Banks confirmed on X that she had made the surprising move, showing off the interior of her new home. "Moving in," the rapper wrote. "If you would have told me years ago id end up moving to Tel Aviv and liking it, I would have said youre crazy." Banks went on to share that she hasn’t just moved for her personal development, but to work on new music. The 35-year-old also praised the city for its sprawling arts scene. "Im 5 hours away and here making my album FINALLY. I found some real camaraderie and some really cool music crew here and it's ironically just been easier to create here because Israel's arts scene is really mature," she wrote. "People arent witholding stems and holding grudges about social issues and it's freeing. Everyone in Israel thinks my political opinions fucking suck and think i have trash taste in men but no one is trying to sabotage me for that.. This is the most creatively enabled ive felt in years. Banks’ change of heart about the Middle East country comes roughly a decade after she first played in Israel at Tel Aviv's Barby nightclub in 2018. Following the performance, Banks then vowed never to return, citing alleged racist treatment she said she experienced there, although she would eventually perform twice more in Israel. Banks has alternated her views on the country several times since. By June 2026, Banks would claim that she had “never” been witness to a certain “level of bareback racism towards black people from jews or israelis.”

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