What did Azealia Banks say about Lady Gaga's 'Disease'? Mayhem songstress acknowledges rapper's praise for her song during press conference

On February 27, 2025, Lady Gaga held her "Little Monsters Press Conference" with Spotify in anticipation of her new studio album, Mayhem, which was released on March 7, 2025. Over 200 Gaga fans, referred to as Little Monsters, and a handful of press gathered at a Brooklyn warehouse for a listening party, followed by a Q&A session.

During the press conference, one fan asked the Paparazzi singer if she had seen rapper Azealia Banks' recent tweet praising her for her song Disease, the lead single of Mayhem, released in October 2024.

For context, Banks, known for her polarizing opinions about fellow artists online, called Disease a "really big deal" in an X post on November 18, 2024.

"Wait why is everyone sleeping on 'disease' by Lady Gaga. This song is a really big deal," Banks tweeted.

Gaga acknowledged that she had seen Banks' post. However, she didn't elaborate on it further.

This is not the first time Azealia Banks has praised Gaga in recent times. On November 19, 2024, the rapper posted on X that she was "highkey" getting into Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' collaborative song, Die With A Smile. However, she was critical of Mars' involvement in the track.

In another X post on January 20, 2025, Banks revealed her newfound appreciation for Lady Gaga, writing:

"B***hes I really became a little monster in the last two weeks . I ngl I her fanbase used to be incredibly racist and there were a few times I connected but after disease I really got in to her discography and have mad respect for her. Like damn Gaga is that girl."

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Exploring the history between Lady Gaga and Azealia Banks, including rumors of a collaboration between the two

Azealia Banks performs at O2 Academy Brixton on September 13, 2024, in London, England (Image via Getty)

During the Little Monsters press conference in Brooklyn, the fan who asked Lady Gaga about Azealia Banks also said, "Justice for Ratchet," to which the singer quipped:

"This really is a Little Monsters press conference, it might as well be 5 AM."

For the unversed, Ratchet was one of the 60 unreleased songs from Gaga's 2013 album ARTPOP. According to Metro, the song was rumored to feature Azealia Banks, Rihanna, and Beyoncé after a snippet leaked online in January 2013.

In a 2013 interview with Brazil's Mix TV, Azealia Banks claimed she was involved in two songs from Gaga's ARTPOP album, saying:

"I worked with Lady GaGa, but I worked with Lady GaGa from afar. We worked via email and via Internet. We have a song called Red Flame and a song called Ratchet, but I don’t know what she’s doing with it. She’s going to release it when she wants to release it."

Speculations about Beyoncé's involvement in the song arose after the singer uploaded an Instagram post wearing golden hoop "Ratchet" earrings. The Single Ladies singer had previously worked with Gaga on the song Telephone.

Rihanna was also rumored to collaborate on Ratchet after the singer frequently used the Ratched hashtag on her X posts. However, the song was never released, and it is unconfirmed whether any of the above-mentioned artists were featured on the track.

In August 2013, Banks also took issue with Gaga allegedly copying her fashion style after the latter wore a seashell and mermaid-inspired costume at the VMAs in 2013. According to a Huffington Post article, Banks wrote in a now-deleted X post:

"Of COURSE gaga wants to play mermaid again..... Pffft."

However, she followed up with another post that she was not picking a fight and wanted to point out that the outfit "looks soo familiar.... To me." Banks took issue with Gaga for a second time that year in September, accusing the singer of allegedly stealing the title of the song Red Flame, another unreleased track from ARTPOP.

“Make sure u let them know where u got the title for red flame from. U stole that from the demo I sent u. You can have it. Plenty more where that came from. Seriously. . . This one is free. Next time I’m charging,” Banks wrote in the now-deleted tweet.

Lady Gaga did not respond to the accusations at the time. According to Genius.com, Red Flame reportedly featured Azealia Banks, but the song was cut from the album due to creative differences. However, the demo was leaked online in August 2016.

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In other news, Lady Gaga's latest studio album, Mayhem, is now available to stream on all music platforms.