media article first draft

1. Article
The first thing I notice about Sierra Banks – aside from her signature audacious style: jet
black fur trench, crimson velvet bodice, black leather micro skirt, sheer tights with holes at
the top of her thighs and over the knee suede boots – is that she is glowing. She actually looks
happy and, somewhat more evident, confident. The last time we met, in late 2012, just as her
controversial single ‘Snapshot’ was establishing her brand of verbally explicit and quirky
R&B/rap sound, she seemed closed and shaky. Then, when she talked about her relationship
breakdown and the spiteful remarks regarding her leaked sex tape, she started to cry and even
cut the interview short.
This time we're in Central London, a city known for its extravagant nightlife and infamous
tourist attractions. A couple of streets from Sierra's hotel, The Ritz nothing less, is Mahiki,
the host of A-List love scandals and drunken rampages from dusk till dawn. Head in the
opposite direction and you can expect to be assaulted by the tourists trying to run around
Hyde Park in its entirety. Despite Banks’ elegant suite, it resembles a teenage girl’s bedroom:
entire wardrobes strewn over almost every inch of the (assumedly) cream carpet, stacks of
dominos boxes (literally 12 of them). Even her king-size bed has been sprinkled with crumbs.
“Eww, I can’t sleep in a crumby bed!” she complains whilst vigorously shaking her white
linen sheets.
“I fucking love it here. When I go away and come back, it’s like I never left.” she exclaims,
sparking up the first of many pink cigarettes. I have to admit, watching the sun set and the
lights illuminate the city from her rooftop balcony is pretty cool and relaxing, but nothing
ever stays relaxing for long when you’re in the company of an extremely fidgety Banks.
She has come back to her favourite city to promote her debut album, and this time there are
no tears. Not once does she waver, and even when the last interview is mentioned, she laughs
and spurts her mocha latte all over the balcony patio and says “That was when I was a naïve
little girl who didn’t how to handle fame or criticism. I’m a cold heartless bitch now, and I
really couldn’t give a fuck what haters say.” Throughout the rest of the two-hour interview
she is thriving in her new confidence, with an abundance of explosive cackles and shocking
vocabulary. Reckless and rude, she is hilarious company.
So, what’s changed? One, her second album, Long Live The Queen, is finally out after three
years of hiding from the public; and two, she is no longer in a relationship – or recording sex
tapes for that matter. Not that the experience has put her off.
“There’s no need for guys to worry, I haven’t turned lesbo or anything! ” she shrugs, “but, for
now I’m happy on my own. I don’t need anyone to make me happy and I certainly don’t need
anyone to depend on. Besides, I’m a driven woman; I know what I want and won’t take no
for an answer.” She explains with a raised brow and spoilt brat pout. “No wonder guys are
intimidated by me!” she laughs.
After running in and grabbing her bejewelled, customised Mac, she finally lets us have a
sneak peak at her new album, out for official release on May 17th. Without giving too much
away, she’s kept to her dirty R&B roots, but it provides a slightly more sexual undertone in
her lyrics, “I’m very much in tune with myself. As soon as I feel something, whether I enjoy
the feeling or not, I put it to paper.” She says whilst gulping down the last of her mocha
before opening a packet of Nerds and offering my crew some. “Music is only real if you feel

2. it. Like, if you don’t connect with what you’re writing then why do it? It’s what inspired me
to not give a fuck about what other people say or think – it’s my music and their opinions are
irrelevant.”
Despite having a huge fan base, Banks’ breakdown evidently knocked her confidence and
sent her into hibernation for 3 years. “The experience was horrible as much as it was
refreshing.” She explains with a mouthful of Nerds. “I think I needed a reality check and that
really hit me. It gave me a lot of time to really think about my life and what I was doing and
where I wanted to go. I realised I didn’t want to be a generic pop star that kids aspire to be;
wearing frilly skirts and doing conservative routines. It wasn’t me and never will be. I’ve
always been true to myself and that’s not going to stop just because a few assholes in my life
want to ruin who I am and what I’m about.”
Luckily we get to see the first of Bank’s music videos from one of the tracks on her album
‘Shameless’, and it really does the name justice. “The album was so sick to record and I
could really show off my talent as well as my personality. ” There’s no argument there that
her personality shines through with her raunchy choice of clothing (not worth mentioning as
there’s not much to mention) and her provocative dance routines – pre-warning: they involve
velvet chairs and glass cages. “It was my way of not only expressing myself, but also kind of
a ‘fuck you, I am who I am’ to the people who were hating on me in the past.”
After watching the video, we’re left feeling a bit stunned, but in a good way. “I want my
music to shock people. I’m not going to be a sheep and make the same shit everyone else
makes.” Banks remarks, leading us back into her ‘cave’ after the temperature on the balcony
starts to dip.
Sitting here on the bed with Sierra is a world away from our hostile and tense interview last
time. This is more similar to a sleepover you’d have with your crazy, celebrity friends (an
everyday norm for us here at Breakin).
As Banks offers us some of her favourite concoction, Malibu Dream (contents unknown)
which we politely and professionally decline, we have a flick through her sacred notebook -
full of doodles, song lyrics, tattoo ideas and random mobile numbers. “Ah, I see you’ve
found my notebook. Don’t be stealing any of those tattoo ideas, they’re originals…Or any of
those guys numbers!” She shouts across the room whilst stumbling over some boots during
her journey through the forest of fluorescent clothing. “This is gonna be my next tattoo” she
says as she points to one of her tattoo ideas in her notebook, “It means ‘limitless’ in Arabic
and that message means a lot to me, and the writing looks prettier than English does. I’m not
gonna let my past, like stupid things, sex tapes and breakdowns, stop me from being me – the
biggest bitch known to music. ” looking me directly in the eyes, she says “I’m back.” with a
smug grin, folding herself into the crumby bed sheets before knocking back the final shot of
her Malibu Dream.