Image via The Cut

Like her or not, there's no denying that Nicki Minaj has really paved the way for female rappers as far as their business pursuits are concerned. In the past few years she collaborated with everyone from M.A.C to OPI and of course, is currently promoting her debut fragrance and now rapper de jour, Azealia Banks, is slowly following suit.

This week M.A.C confirmed that they have partnered with her on a limited edition lipstick named Young Rapunzel, after her alter-ego. The shade comes in a deep semi-matte aubergine colour and will be available online for $15 from September 5 and to celebrate the launch, Azealia will perform at a the brand's Soho store on Fashion's Night Out.

Aside from being excited about the big Lady Gaga cover of US Vogue's September issue and Gwen Stefani for Harper's Bazaar, another one that I've been excited about is Azealia Banks for Dazed & Confused. The pairing is the perfect match so I was really interested to see what they'd do with her. Sadly, though, it looks not everyone will be able to get their hands on a copy.

Yesterday the magazine tweeted: “Just been told our upcoming @AZEALIABANKS cover has been banned from 7 countries so far. Thank God for the Internet, huh?” At the moment the magazine haven't confirmed which countries they are and why it's been banned but if there can be a consilation, at least you'll be able to view the cover online.

Yesterday I wrote about Azealia Banks' confirmation that she will perform at the Met Gala next week but according to the New York Post, she wasn't the first choice. Nicki Minaj was reportedly Vogue's first choice of performer but will not perform because her people failed to sign the papers the organizers needed, leading them to call Banks as a replacement.

The news isn't really a surprise. The magazine has made it clear that Minaj is and has been on their radar for a long time but what is most interesting is fashion's love of rap music at the moment. Minaj has appeared on the cover of leading fashion titles like Wonderland and W and performed at the Versace for H&M party last year. As you'll recall, Banks was invited to perform at Karl Lagerfeld's Paris apartment after the Chanel couture show last season and at Kanye West's A/W12 after show party.

Would you have preferred Minaj over Banks?

The Met Ball is just over a week away and finally the designer-celebrity paring confirmations are beginning to pick up pace. So far we know that Isabel Lucas will attend with the Proenza Schouler boys and as you'll recall, Lana Del Rey's partnership with Joseph Altuzarra came as a bit of a surprise. Azealia Banks and Alexander Wang, on the other hand, is a pairing that makes sense.

Banks confirmed the news on Twitter saying: 'I can't wait for the MET ball! I'm going as Alexander Wang's date. He custom made my outfit and shoes!!!! It's so hot!' And if that gets you excited, there's more good news as the Harlem based rapper will also perform at some stage during the event. 'I've been invited to perform for PRADA next week in NYC! Gonna b so lush!! Let's see what new songs I debut there! #metball2012'

Who else would you like to see paired up?

The fashion industry has really embraced Azealia Banks over the past year. The Harlem native performed in Karl Lagerfeld's Paris apartment after the Chanel couture show, sat front row at Mulberry and Unique in London and collaborated with uber stylist Nicola Formichetti on her latest music video. With all of that industry endorsement, we've all been waiting to see her big editorial debut.

This is the closest we're getting at the moment, as the 21 year-old appears in the latest issue of W magazine shot by Francesco Carrozzini. Although it's only one shot, stylist Patrick Mackie gave us enough to get excited about. The Versace look works to Banks' aesthetic but also makes her look a lot more polished compared to what we've seen her in recently and it looks like we can expect a lot more of this from her in the months to come.

As writer Karin Nelson notes, unlike artists like Nicki Minaj, Banks isn't about grabbing people's attention with crazy outfits. Instead she loves creative but wearable designers like Christopher Kane 'and all his big shiny shit' but for her it's all about reflecting a sense of reality. 'I'm not here to sell a fantasy,' she said. 'I think that's why people are interested in me. They're like, 'Who's this girl making pop music and wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater?'

Image via Mulberry

Mulberry always have a strong front row but the front row line up at their show this morning was particularly interesting. After Rihanna made an appearance at the Stella McCartney presentation last night, many assumed that she would appear at Mulberry today but instead, all eyes were on Lana Del Rey.

In a twist of marketig genius, the brand dropped a press release first thing this morning announcing that they have created the 'Del Rey' bag in the singer's honour, which they confirmed would debut at the show. Naturally then, it became pretty clear that the 'Video Games' singer would be in attendance and that she was. Sporting the white ostrich skin bag, Del Rey sat front row with Pixie Geldof and rapper de jour, Azealia Banks.

The 'Alexa' bag named after Alexa Chung made sense. Whatever you think of the presenter, her innate sense of style is undisputed and more importantly, it is quintessentially British which matches Mulberry's heritage. Del Rey on the other hand seems to have catapulted to fame over night simple for being an antidote to the pop songs we haven't been able to get a break from recently rather than for anything else. While her debut track 'Video Games' was everywhere last summer, her album continues to get panned by critics and Alexandra Schulman was forced to defend choosing her to cover British Vogue's March issue earlier this month. It therefore begs the question - why would Mulberry honour a celebrity who doesn't have a strong link to the brand and whose credibility is the subject of much debate?

What do you think?