Azealia Banks Covers 'Paper' Summer Music Issue

Azealia Banks rocks an Alexander Wang t-shirt on the cover of Paper Magazine‘s Summer Music Issue, avaible on newsstands now.

Here’s what the 21-year-old rapper had to share:

On why she wrote “212″: “Nobody was listening to my music, I had been dropped from [the English record label] XL, my manager dropped me. My boyfriend left me. I was starting to accept that my career was never gonna happen. So the song was just me, like, ‘F**k y’all. Y’all not gonna help me? I’m gonna get it myself.’”

On the music industry: “The music industry is like a machine, It’s always going, and this new generation of artists – me, A$AP Rocky, Rita Ora – we’re the fuel that’s keeping it going. And once you get in that machine you’ve gotta run with it.”

On the advice label chief Jimmy Iovine gave her: “Jimmy tells you to keep the wind behind you. The music is what’s important. These people are not gonna wanna talk to you if you don’t have music; they’re not gonna be interested. And your star is not always gonna be as bright. So you really have to seize the day.”

For more on Azealia, check out PaperMag.com!