after hunting her down for what seemed like over a century, hip hop weekly finally got a chance to get some FaceTime with AZARIA (see what we did there). although we only had a few brief moments with her, it was more than worth the wait and i know you're all desperate to read all about what she had to say.
it could easily be said that you're more famous than ever now, azaria, so tell us: If you could go back in time to give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
don't sweat the small stuff. i started rapping as a joke between me and my older brother and i honestly never thought i'd make it into an actual career. i used to get shit all the time from my brother and his friends and that made want to murder them, you know? battles against him turned into battles against them and soon i was battling with the entire underground hip hop scene through the release of my mixtapes. it was all a wrap when i met wayne, it's like i became famous overnight and that was crazy for me. all of a sudden rapping wasn't a joke anymore and i started having panic attacks *she laughs* i've never admitted to that but it was scary and now that my career has progressed as much as it has and my confidence in my work continues to grow, i would tell that old me to fucking suck it up and get her shit together because there's work to be done and worlds to be conquered!
speaking of how you first started rapping, What development in your past has most shaped who you are now?
my family has had a lot to do with my personal and my professional development for that matter. like i said earlier, i started rapping because of my brother and a lot of the tenacity i have when i rap comes from his influence. he used to go IN on me and i mean IN! we even got into a few fights over some of the shit that came out of his mouth but in hindsight, all of that made me tough and it's why i don't take shit from anyone now. my mom has always been a sweetheart so i get that softness from her but at the same time she's the strongest person i know, too. by getting through everything that happened with my father, she taught me that a person can get through anything with nothing but a little faith and a lotta attitude *she laughs that famous laugh of hers*
you've always been known to talk very highly of your family and we're curious to know: As of this exact moment, who is the most important person in your life and why?
my family extends further than those who share my blood and honestly, the most important person in my life right now is wayne. i lost so much time with him when he was locked up and i suffered not having him around. having him perform at my show in brooklyn meant more to me than i could ever begin to explain and i'm just so much happier knowing he's there whenever i need him and vice versa. i owe everything to him.
staying on topic of your family, How do they take to your public persona?
HA! i'm the same exact person all day, every day so it's nothing new to them at all. i can say that my mom is probably a lot prouder of me now than she's ever been in the past though. i used to care about all the wrong shit when i was growing up and now i've developed really strong feelings and opinions on issues like gender biases and racism in the world, not just in the [music] industry itself. with the kind of fame i have now i have a lot more influence than i could ever hope to have and honestly, i never even thought about important shit like that when i was younger.
okay, okay! enough about family, let's get back to the music! Share the story behind the conception of one of your songs.
finally! i love talking about my music. i'll tell you guys how "feeling myself" came to life and it's funny ass story. bey literally calls me and tells me to bring my ass to her house where she has a shitload of bottles waiting. so of course i get there as fast as i can because who the hell says no to bey? after we finished a bottle or probably two between just the both of us, we end up in her home studio and the rest is really history. we initially did the song in one take and i wish i could let y'all hear the original track we made before going back and fixing it when we weren't so throwed. i'll let y'all in on a little secret, too. 7/11 may or may not have been written that same night *laughter ensues*
last but certainly not least, you know we have to ask you about raph and meek mill.
where's the question at though? but no really, all i have to say about that is raph is my family and it's family over everything.
it could easily be said that you're more famous than ever now, azaria, so tell us: If you could go back in time to give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
don't sweat the small stuff. i started rapping as a joke between me and my older brother and i honestly never thought i'd make it into an actual career. i used to get shit all the time from my brother and his friends and that made want to murder them, you know? battles against him turned into battles against them and soon i was battling with the entire underground hip hop scene through the release of my mixtapes. it was all a wrap when i met wayne, it's like i became famous overnight and that was crazy for me. all of a sudden rapping wasn't a joke anymore and i started having panic attacks *she laughs* i've never admitted to that but it was scary and now that my career has progressed as much as it has and my confidence in my work continues to grow, i would tell that old me to fucking suck it up and get her shit together because there's work to be done and worlds to be conquered!
speaking of how you first started rapping, What development in your past has most shaped who you are now?
my family has had a lot to do with my personal and my professional development for that matter. like i said earlier, i started rapping because of my brother and a lot of the tenacity i have when i rap comes from his influence. he used to go IN on me and i mean IN! we even got into a few fights over some of the shit that came out of his mouth but in hindsight, all of that made me tough and it's why i don't take shit from anyone now. my mom has always been a sweetheart so i get that softness from her but at the same time she's the strongest person i know, too. by getting through everything that happened with my father, she taught me that a person can get through anything with nothing but a little faith and a lotta attitude *she laughs that famous laugh of hers*
you've always been known to talk very highly of your family and we're curious to know: As of this exact moment, who is the most important person in your life and why?
my family extends further than those who share my blood and honestly, the most important person in my life right now is wayne. i lost so much time with him when he was locked up and i suffered not having him around. having him perform at my show in brooklyn meant more to me than i could ever begin to explain and i'm just so much happier knowing he's there whenever i need him and vice versa. i owe everything to him.
staying on topic of your family, How do they take to your public persona?
HA! i'm the same exact person all day, every day so it's nothing new to them at all. i can say that my mom is probably a lot prouder of me now than she's ever been in the past though. i used to care about all the wrong shit when i was growing up and now i've developed really strong feelings and opinions on issues like gender biases and racism in the world, not just in the [music] industry itself. with the kind of fame i have now i have a lot more influence than i could ever hope to have and honestly, i never even thought about important shit like that when i was younger.
okay, okay! enough about family, let's get back to the music! Share the story behind the conception of one of your songs.
finally! i love talking about my music. i'll tell you guys how "feeling myself" came to life and it's funny ass story. bey literally calls me and tells me to bring my ass to her house where she has a shitload of bottles waiting. so of course i get there as fast as i can because who the hell says no to bey? after we finished a bottle or probably two between just the both of us, we end up in her home studio and the rest is really history. we initially did the song in one take and i wish i could let y'all hear the original track we made before going back and fixing it when we weren't so throwed. i'll let y'all in on a little secret, too. 7/11 may or may not have been written that same night *laughter ensues*
last but certainly not least, you know we have to ask you about raph and meek mill.
where's the question at though? but no really, all i have to say about that is raph is my family and it's family over everything.