Erica Banks Drops New Mixtape 'Diary of the Flow Queen'

Dallas rap star Erica Banks releases Diary of The Flow Queen on 1501 Certified Entertainment/Warner Records. The fiery new mixtape is laced with dexterous flows, quotable bars, and beats designed to destroy the club. The 13-song set includes the hits "Toot That" featuring DreamDoll & BeatKing, "Designer," "Slim Waist," "Pop Out," and the new single "Trick," which comes with a glossy, celebratory video.

"Diary of the Flow Queen is definitely the party girl pack all in one. I'm letting my fans get in my head as to what I think a good time is, as I have put it into music. This one's for the women that enjoy fun, and are not to be played with. Definitely a memorable project, my favorite so far"

Diary of The Flow Queen combines Banks' ferocious rhymes with high-tech production and nods to the past. Take the infectious, looming summer hit "Trick." Powered by emphatic bass and quick-fire flows, Banks unloads memorable flexes and an interpolation of David Banner's hit 2003 single, "Like a Pimp."

"Trick" isn't the project's only glimmer of nostalgia. On previous single "Designer," Banks reimagined Crime Mob's "Stilettos (Pumps)" for an infectious anthem. Meanwhile, for "Toot That," she samples "Pop, Lock & Drop It," a 2007 single from late St. Louis rapper Huey. While those songs look to the past, they're destined to soundtrack the dancefloor in both the present and future. After all, they've already ignited crowds across the U.S.

Since May, Banks has hit the stage everywhere from New York to Atlanta, energizing audiences with her electric stage presence and increasingly dense collection of certified bangers. On June 18, she'll light up the stage at Pride Fest Dallas, performing her bold, raucous anthems for thousands of fans. Other notable upcoming appearances include stops at the BET Awards, Lollapalooza, and Rolling Loud NYC.

If fans wanted a show outside of concert venues, they could look no further than her freestyles, including Banks' appearance on Hot 97 with Funk Flex. More recently, on her own YouTube account, she unloaded her "FNF Freestyle." A loosie with proclamations of independence and plenty of quotable flexes, the track is a perfect appetizer for Diary of The Flow Queen.

Over the past few years, Banks' unique gifts as a rapper have earned her a rapid rise. In 2020, she made waves with "Buss It," an irresistible single that smartly flipped Nelly's 2002 classic, "Hot in Herre." The song went viral powered in part by the #BussItChallenge, a TikTok dance trend that received over 2.7 billion views, and in the time since it was officially released, it has racked up over 248 million plays and peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot 100. And now with Diary of The Flow Queen out, Banks is poised to continue her climb to the top.

"Buss It" just proved to the world what Texas already knew: Erica Banks is a real rap spitter who knows an undeniable bop when she makes one. "I have a good ear for music," says the MC. "I know what's best for me."

She also knows what's best for cars and clubs: a relentless flow made sticky by her Dallas drawl, glued to an explosive mix of big bass and eerie melody. You could say she's been perfecting her style over three years of hotly tipped freestyles and mixtapes-Art of the Hustle, Pressure, and Cocky on Purpose represent 2019 alone-but Banks came out swinging from the start.

With "Buss It" hitting the Top 50 on Billboard Hot 100, she has the clout to underwrite her savage disses and tales of lust and luxury. That standout anthem from her booming self-titled 2020 mixtape took on a life of its own in 2021, soundtracking over 3.9 videos, and earning tacit cosigns from the likes of Nicki Minaj, Monica, Rico Nasty, and Tracee Ellis Ross. Banks calls the whole thing "outrageous," but she's been working toward this moment since she fell in love with poetry as a child.

Banks released her debut single "Talk My s" in 2018, and her momentum has been growing ever since. And now that Erica's aligned with both 1501 Certified and Warner Records the turn-up is real. "I make turn-up music, so that's what we're going to do," says Banks. "We're going to continue to push it. What's better than that?"

Listen to the new mixtape here:

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