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Azealia Banks quits Twitter over 'junky' US media culture



New York - Hip-hop star Azealia Banks, an explosive presence on Twitter where she relished taking other artists to task, has abruptly deactivated her account as she deplored US media culture.

"I'm finally making the decision to eject from social media," she tweeted late on Tuesday to her followers, calling US media culture "disgusting and junky".

Her Twitter account had vanished on Wednesday and she made her Instagram postings private. Her Facebook page showed nothing since August.

The African American artist has been famous for her acerbic tweets directed at other artists, most notably Australian artist Iggy Azalea whom she mocked as "Igloo Australia" and accused of exploiting black culture.

Attacking other prominent rappers, Banks has accused Eminem of sexism, charged that Nicki Minaj was unfairly playing racial politics and appeared to wish violence on Action Bronson for past insults.

Even some admirers of Banks have voiced unease about tweets in which she urged followers to burn down the homes of descendants of slave traders and employed homophobic slurs, even though she herself identifies as bisexual.

More recently Banks gave a tongue-in-cheek endorsement to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump - also known for his prolific use of Twitter - saying that the billionaire "is evil like America is evil" and hence the country's fitting leader.

Despite the attention to her provocative social media persona, the New York native has won wide praise for her music, notably her single 212 in which her character snatches a woman from a man whose sexuality she then mocks.

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