Azealia Banks Pays Tribute to the Great Women of Pop in Her New Video
A week after Azealia Banks finally gave the world her excellent debut album, Broke With Expensive Taste, she’s released a video for the album’s current single, “Chasing Time”—one of her best songs yet—that celebrates the many women in music, past and present, who’ve influenced her work.
Banks, in her usual black-and-white filter, recreates a range of memorable music video images conceived by or for a variety of female icons: There are nods to Missy Elliott’s “The Rain,” Lil’ Kim’s infamous 1999 VMAs dress, TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream,” Aaliyah’s “Try Again,” and more. It also includes homages to younger women in the music business—Lady Gaga and Beyoncé in particular. The Marc Klasfeld–directed video is a kind of cinematic inspiration board that traces her new album back to the age of early ’90s R&B, giving due credit to the powerful women in music that have come before.