Source: iONE / HHW
Chicago rising star Ashlee Bankz stopped by Hip-Hop Wired to talk music, growth, and her journey so far.
In October 2024, Bankz released her project GO TO HELL, featuring standout tracks like “IT DOESN’T MATTER” and “TINA SNOW.” The Chicago rapper explained the straightforward inspiration behind the project’s title. “Sometimes you gotta just tell them leave me alone, go to hell.”
Chicago has been home to countless stars over the years, and Bankz is positioning herself as one of the city’s next breakout voices. She describes her relationship with the city as complicated but deeply rooted.
“It’s a love-hate relationship right now. The hate is that I want the city to do better; the love is outside of the environment. So for me, Chicago is a beautiful place, it’s home.”
One major milestone for Bankz came when she landed a songwriting placement for Karrueche Tran’s character in Preach, Pray, Love. The turnaround was fast, but Bankz was more than ready for the challenge:
“I was on my way to the Cowboy Carter tour, my homie Tino called me and was like, ‘They need a record for this movie, you might have to come to Atlanta tomorrow. Karrueche is the actress in the movie; she needs a song.’ I was like if I gotta leave tomorrow, I gotta leave tomorrow, I’m ready. It was quick, they needed a song, I sent them the song, and the director said they love this song and they want to use it. It literally all happened within 48 hours.”
Check out the full interview with Ashlee Bankz on Hip-Hop Wired below:
