It is one of the most talked about images of recent days: Penélope Cruz dancing with her hair unkempt in a Maldives nightclub with the architect and model Bianca Censori, wife of Kanye West. Both recorded by Kanye himself, who publishes the video through his Instagram account.
In addition, in the video, Cruz and Censori appear dancing to ‘212’, Azealia Banks’ great hit. And it doesn’t seem like the choice to record both of them strutting to this specific song is a coincidence.
Azealia Banks and Kanye West share a complicated professional and personal history. Azealia has been harshly critical of Kanye in recent years for his anti-Semitic and racist statements, his misogonia and the qualitative decline of his music. It’s hard to remember the times when Banks tweeted that she had just “received a beat from Kanye.” It was the year 2012. Kanye, at the height of his career, and Azealia, at the dawn, were collaborating on a song that would never see the light of day.
It’s been difficult to follow Azealia Banks’ thoughts on any artist lately due to her continued contradictions. However, in 2022, the Harlem rapper declared that she had rejected up to two collaborations with Kanye West “in the same week.” Banks called Kanye “useless trash” and said she preferred working with Doja Cat. Still, Kanye seems to be a fan of ‘212’.
Although Banks doesn’t seem to have only resentment for West either. Maybe you still have a bit of affection for him. Otherwise, perhaps, he would not have dedicated the cover of his 2021 single, the great ‘Fuck Him All Night’, to him. In the image, the ten fingers of Banks’ two hands, surrounding her pubis, spell the name of the author of ‘Carnival’.
Kanye West publishes a video of Penélope Cruz and Bianca Censori dancing together in the Maldives 👀 pic.twitter.com/qTcpJN2uLW
— HIGHXTAR. (@highxtar_) January 5, 2025
