The rapper and vocalist brings a fiery tour and a declaration that she's still relevant to Tipitina's Tuesday.

The rapper and vocalist brings a fiery tour and a declaration that she's still relevant to Tipitina's Tuesday. 

Who: Azealia Banks
What: A badass rapper/vocalist who’s reasserting herself
When: Tuesday, October 17 at 9 p.m.
Where: Tipitina’s
Why: Azealia Banks refuses to be played out. Emerging from the shadow of the seemingly unfollowable megahit “212” and subsequent stream of public feuds, Banks is touring after the July release of Slay Z. Banks’ new album says that she isn't clinging to “212” but rather building from it, and refuses to be spat out the other end of the Top 50-to-forgotten pipeline of increasingly popular rap music. Banks is not hiding the controversy of her past work but promises a louder voice to drown out the drama and criticism that colored the past three years of her career.

The album’s best track is “The Big Big Beat,” which is just that--a fantastic beat that showcases Banks’ impressive vocal range. She slows down for the seductive chorus, “Oooh boy,” and speeds up to showcase her rap skills. Her September single, “Escapades” similarly oscillates between slow demonstrations of vocalese and swifter rapping as she asks “How deep, how high your love is? / Boy, come on, take me to it.”

She’s not a new Azealia Banks but a refocused Banks whose goal is to showcase the talent that afforded her the spotlight in the first place. Banks is taking the mic back and refusing to pass it on.