Azealia Banks has called for the descendents of slave traders to pay $100 trillion in reparations to African-Americans.
Taking to Twitter on Friday (December 26), the rapper made a series of posts relating to reparations after sharing an article about the DeWolf family, who were prominent Rhode Island-based slave traders.
“I wonder where the descendants of the ‘DeWolf’ family are today. They should all have their houses burned and their finances seized,” Azealia tweeted. “This generation of young black kids needs to make a CONCERTED effort to seek out living descendants of major slave trading families. They Owe us Money.”
Banks then tweeted directly to James DeWolf Perry, a DeWolf descendent who was involved in a documentary about coming to terms with his family history. Questioned about profits from the project, Perry replied, “Thanks for asking. No, I’m not making any money from documenting the DeWolf family’s slave trading past.” Banks went on to request proof of this claim, as well as asking Perry, “What did you [sic] family do with all the money you made from slavery???? I need to know. Now.”
“Someone should kick your ass, and punch you right in your stupid smiling cracker face,” posted an agitated Banks.
The 23-year-old also shared a number of links to articles on how Native-Americans and Holocaust survivors have received some form of reparations from the United States and Germany, as well as a claim by Harper’s magazine stating that should the US compensate African-Americans for slavery, the figure would be in the region of $100 trillion, based on the hours of forced labour worked with a compound interested of 6 percent.
Banks has clashed with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea numerous times in recent months and has criticised her rival for not commenting on the protests in Ferguson and New York following the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police. She returned to the subject in an interview with Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning earlier this month, becoming visibly emotional when asserting that white artists are treated differently to black artists in America.
“I feel like, in this country, whenever it comes to our things, like black issues or black politics or black music or whatever, there’s always this undercurrent of kinda like a ‘Fuck you,'” Banks said. “There’s always a ‘Fuck y’all niggas. Y’all don’t really own shit. Y’all don’t have shit.’ That Macklemore album wasn’t better than the Drake record. That Iggy Azalea shit isn’t better than any fucking black girl that’s rapping today.”
