Meet Азилька: Azealia Banks chooses new stage name for performances in post-Soviet states

The American signer Azealia Banks has taken to Instagram to announce a new, geographically specific stage name: During tours in the former Soviet Union, Banks wrote, she will perform under the name Azilka (“it's pronounced "AH-ZeYL-Ka" !”). “I think its adorable!!!!!” the artist wrote. “‘Азелия Бэнкс’ [the full transliteration of Azealia Banks] just looks too complicated for my tastes.”

Banks wrote that her boyfriend, who was born and raised in Russia, calls her Azilka at home. She had previously told the Russian entertainment outlet Studio 21 that her boyfriend also introduced her to music by the rock star Zemfira and taught her a few choice Russian words.