The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads

Author:

Pérez Elizabeth

Abstract

AbstractControversial Harlem-born rapper/singer, songwriter, and provocateuse Azealia Banks is the most (in)famous, vocal, and visible proponent of Black Atlantic traditions in recent times—making a critical reckoning well overdue. I begin here by tracing Banks's engagement with Afro-Diasporic religions (including Caribbean Espiritismo, Afro-Cuban Lucumí, and Dominican “21 Divisions”) as a trajectory from vamp to bruja [witch]/santera to mayombera. A review of Banks's public statements reveals her growing commitment to championing “so-called voodoo” and urging other African Americans to do so as well. I argue that the release of Beyoncé's Lemonade in 2016 catalyzed Banks's advocacy for Kongo-inspired Palo Mayombe, long overshadowed by Yorùbá-based orisha worship. I further demonstrate that Banks's espousal of Palo Mayombe has been bound up with her identity as a Womanist and dark-skinned, cisgender femme fatale. More than a political program, however, Banks's discursive constructions amount to a Black Atlantic metaphysics. Drawing on Irene Lara's formulation of “bruja positionalities,” I propose that the theoretical scaffolding for her metaphysics should be designated Brujx Womanism. Missteps notwithstanding, Banks emerges as a metaphysician, aspiring to repair Black bodies by re-membering Kongo traditions. In closing, I suggest that Banks's Brujx Womanism may contribute to the conceptualization of Conjure Feminism in four crucial respects.

Publisher

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

Subject

Philosophy,Gender Studies

Reference106 articles.

1. Azealia Banks: “Feminism never supported Black women.”;Jones;Dazed Digital,2015

2. Thompson, Robert Farris , and Cornet, Joseph . 1981. The four moments of the sun: Kongo art in two worlds. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, Washington.

3. Study: White people think Black people are magical unicorns;Oh;Mother Jones,2014

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