Image from “AZEALIA BANKS confesses to being a witch”

Ivanni Greppi and I have been writing a series of articles on the rise of African diaspora religions in America today and their influence on social justice related issues. The religions discussed in the articles include Santeria, Palo Mayombe, and Haitian Voodoo. The focus of this article will be on the rapper/singer and songwriter Azealia Banks, who is by far the greatest evangelist for these religions in America today, with the possible exception of Beyonce’ and Jay-Z. According to Elizabeth Pérez of the University of California, Santa Barbara:

[The] controversial 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. . . . [Banks has embraced several] Afro-Diasporic religions (including Caribbean Espiritismo, Afro-Cuban Lucumí [also known as Santería], and Dominican “21 Divisions”). . . . 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. . . . [Banks also advocates] for Kongo-inspired Palo Mayombe, [which has been] long overshadowed by Yorùbá based orisha worship. . . . Banks’s espousal of Palo Mayombe has been bound up with her identity as a Womanist and dark-skinned, cisgender femme fatale.¹Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 519

Part of Banks’ mission in embracing these various religions is to redefine feminism for black women from the traditional idea of feminism as defined by white women like Gloria Steinem to one based in dark power womanism and fighting against  “systemic racism.”

Banks’ Womanism and Her Path to Becoming a Witch

 According to Encyclopedia Britannica, womanism is a “feminist intellectual framework that focuses on the conditions and concerns of women of color, especially Black women. Womanists work to address injustices that have not been generally recognized within mainstream feminism.”²Weida, Kaz. 2023. “Womanism | Definition, Origins, Intersectionality, & Criticisms | Britannica.” Www.britannica.com. September 7, 2023 According to Pérez:

Banks rejects modern liberal feminism as irrecuperable in view of its anti-Black origins and posits Black Feminism. . . as the province of “light black women”. . . . Colorism is so central to her critique of feminism that it lies at the root of her antagonism with [the American singer-songwriter] Beyoncé [who is a practitioner of the African Diaspora religion of Yoruba].

[Banks has also stated,] Beyoncé profits from the privileging of light skin—stemming from Christian metaphysics and its inculcation of the devil’s [B]lackness—even when embracing “witchcraft.”

Banks’s Brujx Womanism implores Black women to reconsider “so-called voodoo,” preferably transnational Afro-Cuban initiatory traditions with historically verifiable lineages and rule-bound disciplinary repertoires.³Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 535

“Brujx” is a gender-neutral term derived from the Spanish word “bruja” which means “witch,” essentially signifying a witch or practitioner of witchcraft, often used by people who identify as Afro-Latinx or queer to reclaim the power associated with the term and challenge traditional gender norms within the practice of brujería (witchcraft).

Banks sees herself as evolving from just a mere practitioner of Black Atlantic religions to a full-blown witch and evangelist. She is on a trajectory from a vamp to a bruja [witch]. Someone might ask what a vamp is:

[A “VAMP” is] a very sexually/financially powerful woman who is usually characterized by a penchant for dark things; nighttime, witchcraft, . . . Etc.”⁴Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 535

According to Irene Lara of San Diego State University,

A bruja is a female practitioner of spiritual, sexual, and healing knowledges. . . . “brujas” are feared for their knowledge and power and hence subjected to oppressive treatment.⁵Lara, Irene. “BRUJA POSITIONALITIES: Toward a Chicana/Latina Spiritual Activism.” Chicana/Latina Studies 4, no. 2 (2005): 10–45

According to Pérez,

In late 2016. . .Banks shared a video of herself on [social media]. . .  in safety goggles and a respirator mask, cleaning out a small room that had accumulated what she called “three years’ worth of brujería.” . . . At the conclusion of the video, Banks signed off, “Real witches do real things,” before cutting to the shriek of her sandblaster at work.⁶Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 519

Banks’ Occult Politics

According to Pérez, Banks routinely calls for “religious revolt as a rallying cry for what might be dubbed Brujx Womanism.”⁷Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 521 Within her April 2013 video for Yung Rapunxel,

Banks battles tear gas and police officers in riot gear, mirroring the mobilizations of activist movements against police brutality and racial profiling. . . .  Commentators imputed the video’s imagery—such as the owl flying out of Banks’s third eye—to Freemasonry and the modern-day Illuminati secret society.

According to Pérez, Banks has also stated,

And [I] truly, truly, truly, truly, truly, honestly believe that the sooner we get in touch with our original powers, is the sooner the tables will start to turn, you know. Because now, in this point in time, we’re convinced otherwise.

I urge every African American woman especially not to be afraid of so-called voodoo.⁸Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 531

Black folk need to protect themselves in EVERY aspect. We should be exercising our second amendment rights [to bear arms], (physically) pooling out [sic] money and resources into black owned businesses and institutions, (financially) all the while denouncing all ties to the Christian church and redeveloping our God-given magical abilities (spiritually).⁹Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 532

Banks’ Other Dangerous Behavior

In addition to Beyoncé, Banks often gets into online confrontations with various people in the music industry. She has even had feuds with Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson on the topic of gay slurs.¹⁰C. Vernon Coleman. 2016. “Azealia Banks Exchanges Heated Tweets with Black Lives Matter Activist DeRay Mckesson – XXL.” XXL Mag. April 23, 2016 And according to Pérez:

In August 2012, she dove into a feud with fellow Harlem rapper Jim Jones after disputing his claim to have popularized the term vamp with his song “Vamp Life.”¹¹Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 521

According to W Magazine,

Last month, [the American singer-songwriter Lana] Del Rey criticized Kanye West’s support of Donald Trump, commenting on an Instagram post of the rapper in his MAGA hat, “Trump becoming our president was a loss for the country but your support of him is a loss for the culture.”. . . This prompted a response from Banks: “You, a privileged white woman, have no f–king business opening your mouth to a black man from Chicago, telling him what he should and shouldn’t f–king believe in,”

“When her house mysteriously goes up in flames while she is asleep inside,” she went on, “I want to see as many #Azealiavoodoo hashtags as possible.” (It’s not the first time Banks has wished death on a perceived nemesis—just consider Wendy Williams, who, earlier this year, Banks said she hoped would succumb to a heart attack.)¹²“Azealia Banks Threatens to Burn down Lana Del Rey’s House with Magic.” 2018. W Magazine. October 12, 2018

According to Pérez:

By introducing. . . Dominican Vudú, Banks elected to shed light on one of the least-documented Black Atlantic traditions. Evidence of her relationship with it was written on her body, under her left arm to be precise: a tattoo of the classic “Mami Wata” snake charmer image that represents the Vudú spirit “Santa Marta la Dominadora”. . . [also known as] Marinette. ¹³Pérez, Elizabeth. “The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 524

 I discuss the evil Voodoo spirit of Marinette and her connection the Haitian Revolution of 1791 in my article Do Spiritual Practices of Black Lives Matter Align with Haitian Voodoo?: Pt. 2..

According to Pérez, Banks has stated:

Seriously, once all YALL black people learn how to kill + sicken people without actually touching them the sooner we really get from under . . . Whiteys foot. . . .Yall [n-word] think I’m playing.¹⁴“The Black Atlantic Metaphysics of Azealia Banks: Brujx Womanism at the Kongo Crossroads.” Hypatia 36, no. 3 (2021): 523

With so many Afro-Diasporic religions being promoted by artists such as Azealia Banks, it is more important than ever that Christian parents be aware of the messages behind the music their children may be listening to. By listening to Banks, it is possible that children are being indoctrinated into or at least desensitized to voodoo and other forms of witchcraft. It is important to remind children that scripture strictly forbids witchcraft (Deut 18:10-11, 2 Kgs 21:6). Marcia Montenegro’s book, Spellbound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids, can be very helpful on this and other paranormal attractions.

We also need to be in prayer for Ms. Banks as she is clearly erratic and caught in Satan’s trap of thinking that personal power can come from witchcraft. If she is seeking power to rise above trials and tribulations, she will only find it through God’s love. And it will be glorifying to Him. Not her.

 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

Stephanie Potts and her husband, Jim live in Dayton, Ohio, and have been married for 23 years. She worked with the federal government for 15 years as an intelligence analyst and then entered full-time Christian service in 2015. She first joined Haven Ministries in Denver, Colorado, in 2015 and then transferred to Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc in 2021. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Political Science and International Relations and received her Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems from Penn State University. She is currently working towards her master’s degree in Christian Apologetics through Southern Evangelical Seminary. She has special interests in indigenous religions – especially Native American spirituality – and in responding to Catholicism, and the social justice movement. Stephanie’s personal website: rainbowapologetics.com

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