BLACK GIRL DEBUT MAGIC™ - WINNER
- Thread starter Mr.Arroz
- Start date
I vote using the full scale too, for example in the big pop girls rate two of the albums got a 4-5 average, but in this particular rate the overall quality is very high, so they got high scores in general. I'm not going to be giving songs like 2-3 just for the sake of having a wide range of scores it when I don't think they actually deserve it.
Hell I think I underscored a lot of tracks that did indeed deserve 9's and 10's when looking back at my scores just now.
Mr.Arroz
Staff member
he/him/his
RISE AND SHINE Y'ALL
#2
LMK
9.628
Highest score: 11 x 2 (@digitalkaiser, @inevitable)
10 x 26 (@Petty Mayonnaise, @Sprockrooster, @constantino, @2014, @paperboyfriendd, @Jwentz, @CorgiCorgiCorgi, @Bangers&Bops, @Remorque, @soratami, @Solenciennes, @ufint, @LE0Night, @R92, @lalaclairi_, @K94, @kermit_the_frog, @ohnostalgia, @KingBruno, @Kuhleezi, @A&E, @AshleyKerwin, @1991, @BML, @He)
Lowest scores: 6.5 x 1 (@Trouble in Paradise)
My score: 10
Track background: Produced by frequent collaborators Jam City and kwes., “LMK” is both Take Me Apart’s lead single, as well as its seventh track. Documenting the beginning of the second relationship narrated on the LP, Kelela describes the song as being built to offer space to that grey area that becomes, in her eyes, difficult to navigate in keeping things in between “serious” and “casual” with new romantic/sexual partners. I’ve clunkily done my best to describe it myself just there, so I’ll allow her to mention her own creative process herself:
She also discusses the song with iHeart Radio here, and Pitchfork here.
“LMK” was written by Kelela, alongside Jeremiah Jerry, and Asma Maroof. It premiered on August 1st 2017, on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1, as his so-called “World Record”. Its music video, featuring what Kelela has dubbed a harkening back to the 90’s, debuted shortly thereafter, on August 9th, 2017, directed by frequent Bjork collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang, who himself offered his own vision for the clip in its Youtube comments:
“We wanted make a video that showcases the multiplicity of who Kelela is and who she has the potential to be. The video is essentially a grand unveiling featuring Kelela wearing different wigs and guises as she pushes through the club with her friends, ultimately revealing herself at the end of the video. The message of this video is empowerment: it’s for the girls, for anyone whose heart has been trampled on and deserves to go out and feel good about themselves. It’s a call to action, demanding to be taken and to be quick about it. This is the reason why we love Kelela – she’s making herself vulnerable and kicking down doors in the process”
My thoughts: WHEW. One of the top singles of 2017, which was unexpected considering how out-of-the-blue its release was, it converted me into a full-time stan, after having “Rewind” and the EP just knocking around in my iTunes collecting minimal plays. I think both Kelela, as well as her music, both came to me at a rather ideal time in my life; as someone who’s known as PJ for being fairly radical, or at the very least, very direct and outspoken about social justice and many of the cultural movements/moments/buzzwords that it generates/brings to mind, Kelela’s knack for being analytical, vulnerable, powerful, self-willing is something truly revolutionary – but also re-affirming. How she can illustrate the deep context present in what may seem like even the most trivial or “NBD” events in life is perplexing to me but also…stunning. Why can’t we ask for more? Who created these social rules? And why are we meant to simply just “go” with them? I think in many ways, that absorbing her artistry and her “her” has informed how I myself approach things. Kelela always speaks her world into significance, consistently mentioning her queerness, her Blackness, her womanhood, and how all of those intersecting components of her identity inform how she views, but also is viewed by, the world. As POC we often, especially in white spaces, learn to push ourselves into corners and conversations whispered. In introducing “LMK”, but also Take Me Apart as a collective piece, she’s made effort in personally undoing that shame and fear that obscure so much of POC experience. The fact that she’s been able to wrap, twist, and dress that message over the soundscape of ballads, “bops”, and mid-tempos in a cohesive package for our listening pleasure?
It never didn’t trouble the top 10 here, and seeing it take silver?
We stan.
Your thoughts:
@Sprockrooster (10) - If there was going to be runner-up for my 11 it was this one. What a song. Snatched and aiming high for this year's position on my personal charts. The adlibs and that dark beat is a match they could not even make in heaven.
@TRAVVV (9) - I didn’t know Kelela was
@Jwentz (10) - The song I'd heard of her's that I didn't know was her's. When I connected the dots everything clicked, I knew I had to listen to everything of her's.
@Bangers&Bops (10) - cavernous, come-hither anthem that feels like electricity rising from a black hole and boasts a hook that should bring peace to the world. The music just adds to how great the song is, as she transitions from the 90’ to the 00’s to now. Plus the looks she served are to die for. A triumph!
@lalaclairi_ (10) - Her Mary J. Blige circa "Not Gon' Cry" look in the video is everything.
@KingBruno (10) - Pleasant keyboard sparkles and clapping beats unite to menacing reverberances, that become nothing more than a good deed by Jam City.
@Kuhleezi (10) - The stan in me wishes this was the song Tinashe would come back with. But I'm more than happy that Kelela can be great on her own, and that this was the song I first discovered her with.
@happiestgirl (9) - This is the one song from the album that really stuck out and truly seemed great to me
@AshleyKerwin (10) - In another timeline, this was the late summer banger of 2017.
@ohnostalgia (10) - What a monumental lightning strike of a song.
@constantino (10) - You’d think that I would be just a little bit tired of this song having requested it at every pre-drinking session I’ve attended since it dropped (roughly 2-3 times a week), but nope. Still standing. Still sIaying this buss. Still impeccable to these ears. Oh and this video? Hunny she did that. The past? Stun. The present? Stun. The future? STUN. This, to me, is the sound of Kelela coming into her own as an artist and the video is the visual realisation of that so yeah, take my 10 and take my money.
@Solenciennes (10) - wig. It is that deep, help. I love the dismissive, nonchalant lyrics set to such an aggressive, warped, other worldly beat, it’s all very spacey, hazy and foggy to me. That pre-chorus/chorus and the “let me know” chants are soooo good.
@Trouble in Paradise (6.5) Honestly, the song feels a little repetitive and doesn't move me in any particular way. I can definitely appreciate the talent, but after repeat listens it just feels overdone.
@Mr.Arroz SIDEBAR:
Get him, girls.
Music video/live performances:
I think y'all can guess what that means....
#2
LMK
9.628
Highest score: 11 x 2 (@digitalkaiser, @inevitable)
10 x 26 (@Petty Mayonnaise, @Sprockrooster, @constantino, @2014, @paperboyfriendd, @Jwentz, @CorgiCorgiCorgi, @Bangers&Bops, @Remorque, @soratami, @Solenciennes, @ufint, @LE0Night, @R92, @lalaclairi_, @K94, @kermit_the_frog, @ohnostalgia, @KingBruno, @Kuhleezi, @A&E, @AshleyKerwin, @1991, @BML, @He)
Lowest scores: 6.5 x 1 (@Trouble in Paradise)
My score: 10
Track background: Produced by frequent collaborators Jam City and kwes., “LMK” is both Take Me Apart’s lead single, as well as its seventh track. Documenting the beginning of the second relationship narrated on the LP, Kelela describes the song as being built to offer space to that grey area that becomes, in her eyes, difficult to navigate in keeping things in between “serious” and “casual” with new romantic/sexual partners. I’ve clunkily done my best to describe it myself just there, so I’ll allow her to mention her own creative process herself:
She also discusses the song with iHeart Radio here, and Pitchfork here.
“LMK” was written by Kelela, alongside Jeremiah Jerry, and Asma Maroof. It premiered on August 1st 2017, on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1, as his so-called “World Record”. Its music video, featuring what Kelela has dubbed a harkening back to the 90’s, debuted shortly thereafter, on August 9th, 2017, directed by frequent Bjork collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang, who himself offered his own vision for the clip in its Youtube comments:
“We wanted make a video that showcases the multiplicity of who Kelela is and who she has the potential to be. The video is essentially a grand unveiling featuring Kelela wearing different wigs and guises as she pushes through the club with her friends, ultimately revealing herself at the end of the video. The message of this video is empowerment: it’s for the girls, for anyone whose heart has been trampled on and deserves to go out and feel good about themselves. It’s a call to action, demanding to be taken and to be quick about it. This is the reason why we love Kelela – she’s making herself vulnerable and kicking down doors in the process”
My thoughts: WHEW. One of the top singles of 2017, which was unexpected considering how out-of-the-blue its release was, it converted me into a full-time stan, after having “Rewind” and the EP just knocking around in my iTunes collecting minimal plays. I think both Kelela, as well as her music, both came to me at a rather ideal time in my life; as someone who’s known as PJ for being fairly radical, or at the very least, very direct and outspoken about social justice and many of the cultural movements/moments/buzzwords that it generates/brings to mind, Kelela’s knack for being analytical, vulnerable, powerful, self-willing is something truly revolutionary – but also re-affirming. How she can illustrate the deep context present in what may seem like even the most trivial or “NBD” events in life is perplexing to me but also…stunning. Why can’t we ask for more? Who created these social rules? And why are we meant to simply just “go” with them? I think in many ways, that absorbing her artistry and her “her” has informed how I myself approach things. Kelela always speaks her world into significance, consistently mentioning her queerness, her Blackness, her womanhood, and how all of those intersecting components of her identity inform how she views, but also is viewed by, the world. As POC we often, especially in white spaces, learn to push ourselves into corners and conversations whispered. In introducing “LMK”, but also Take Me Apart as a collective piece, she’s made effort in personally undoing that shame and fear that obscure so much of POC experience. The fact that she’s been able to wrap, twist, and dress that message over the soundscape of ballads, “bops”, and mid-tempos in a cohesive package for our listening pleasure?
It never didn’t trouble the top 10 here, and seeing it take silver?
We stan.
Your thoughts:
@Sprockrooster (10) - If there was going to be runner-up for my 11 it was this one. What a song. Snatched and aiming high for this year's position on my personal charts. The adlibs and that dark beat is a match they could not even make in heaven.
@TRAVVV (9) - I didn’t know Kelela was
@Jwentz (10) - The song I'd heard of her's that I didn't know was her's. When I connected the dots everything clicked, I knew I had to listen to everything of her's.
@Bangers&Bops (10) - cavernous, come-hither anthem that feels like electricity rising from a black hole and boasts a hook that should bring peace to the world. The music just adds to how great the song is, as she transitions from the 90’ to the 00’s to now. Plus the looks she served are to die for. A triumph!
@lalaclairi_ (10) - Her Mary J. Blige circa "Not Gon' Cry" look in the video is everything.
@KingBruno (10) - Pleasant keyboard sparkles and clapping beats unite to menacing reverberances, that become nothing more than a good deed by Jam City.
@Kuhleezi (10) - The stan in me wishes this was the song Tinashe would come back with. But I'm more than happy that Kelela can be great on her own, and that this was the song I first discovered her with.
@happiestgirl (9) - This is the one song from the album that really stuck out and truly seemed great to me
@AshleyKerwin (10) - In another timeline, this was the late summer banger of 2017.
@ohnostalgia (10) - What a monumental lightning strike of a song.
@constantino (10) - You’d think that I would be just a little bit tired of this song having requested it at every pre-drinking session I’ve attended since it dropped (roughly 2-3 times a week), but nope. Still standing. Still sIaying this buss. Still impeccable to these ears. Oh and this video? Hunny she did that. The past? Stun. The present? Stun. The future? STUN. This, to me, is the sound of Kelela coming into her own as an artist and the video is the visual realisation of that so yeah, take my 10 and take my money.
@Solenciennes (10) - wig. It is that deep, help. I love the dismissive, nonchalant lyrics set to such an aggressive, warped, other worldly beat, it’s all very spacey, hazy and foggy to me. That pre-chorus/chorus and the “let me know” chants are soooo good.
@Trouble in Paradise (6.5) Honestly, the song feels a little repetitive and doesn't move me in any particular way. I can definitely appreciate the talent, but after repeat listens it just feels overdone.
@Mr.Arroz SIDEBAR:
Get him, girls.
Music video/live performances:
I think y'all can guess what that means....
PHEW, so glad to see this make the top 2. Kelela really DID that in this rate.
212 is of course such a pop culture moment, bop, and deserved winner!
6 years on and 212 remains that bop
Mr.Arroz
Staff member
he/him/his
#1
212 (feat. Lazy Jay)
9.949
Highest score: 11 x 6 (@theelusivechanteuse, @kermit_the_frog, @Posh Spears, @ThisIsRogue, @Heaven on Earth, @1991)
10 x 28 (@Petty Mayonnaise, @constantino, @2014, @Sanctuary, @paperboyfriendd, @Jwentz, @CorgiCorgiCorgi, @Bangers&Bops, @Remorque, @soratami, @Solenciennes, @ufint, @LE0Night, @inevitable, @R92, @lalaclairi_, @JamesJupiter, @beyoncésweave, @K94, @ohnostalgia, @KingBruno, @Kuhleezi, @happiestgirl, @Trouble in Paradise, @AshleyKerwin, @BML, @He)
Lowest scores: 7 x 1 (@A&E)
My score: 10
Track background:
Nah, but for real:
Written by Anaya Green and Jeff Martens along with Azealia herself, with Martens providing production, “212” was officially released on December 6th, 2011, later becoming part of both the 1991 EP, and Broke with Expensive Taste, as track five, after being self-released by Azealia in fall 2011 on Soundcloud and Tumblr. Martens, also known as ½ of Lazy Jay, receives writing and production credits due to their track “Float My Boat” being used as its template, like many other tracks that would end up on the BWET's tracklist.
The Azealia Banks Wikia (ddddddddd) lists this data regarding its reception, because it's so long ago for me to piece together on my own:
The song received highly positive reviews and acclaim, critics complimented Banks' versatile rapping style as well as her song writing ability. The Guardian gave the song a highly positive review and placed it at number 2 on their The Best Songs of 2011 list. In a review, Michael Cragg praised the song calling it "a startling three and a half minutes of attitude" as well as "incredible." Carrie Battan of Pitchfork Media complimented her "unpredictable vocal range" and wrote, "She clicks between characters and styles casually, effortlessly. No seams. A jaw-slackening demo reel." NME dubbed the song #18 on their 50 Best Tracks Of 2011, calling it "mischievous, quick-witted and full of filthy cunnilanguage: it’s made Azealia Banks, the coolest girl on the planet, and it delivered on 2011’s forward-thinking promise." NPR Music gave the song a positive review and listed it as one of their 100 Favorite Songs Of 2011, calling the song "the raunchiest shut-down of 2011." Pitchfork gave the song its Best New Music accolade and ranked it number 9 on their Top 100 Tracks of 2011 list, writing:
So she's an internet novelty? Hardly. "212" works because its popcraft and its shock tactics are each other's Trojan horses-- concentrate on one and the other sneaks up on you. One reason "ruin you, cunt" feels like such a payoff is that Banks spends an entire verse of quick, unshowy rapping setting up its run of vowels. Banks uses the peaks, breakdowns, and drop-outs of Lazy Jay's bouncy "Float My Boat" to give her Minaj-style vocal-shifts some context: from sassy and chatty during the build ups to cartoon rage as the synths rear up around her at the song's end. If it were judged only on its visceral thrill, "212" would still be one of 2011's best, an unashamed banger in a mostly mid-tempo year. But the more you dig into the song, the more you can hear details and decisions that suggest a scary degree of pop talent.
Azealia also spoke with SPIN magazine in late 2012, remarking about the song’s creation (it was written in April 2011):
This is where the timeline starts to gets blurry — Banks hasn’t had time to sort it out yet. Maybe she’s worried that she doesn’t know how it ends. At some point, the “212” footage she’d shot up in Montreal got edited into a video and put on YouTube. A version of “212” reached the BBC’s Nick Grimshaw, who made it “Record of the Week” on his influential Radio 1 show. That same week, Banks played POP Montreal, opening for Kid Sister. Shortly after, Banks was flown to Paris to meet Adele’s producer, Paul Epworth…
“‘212,’ it came out of a place of desperation,” she says. “But it also came out of a place of anger. It was like, ‘Fuck all y’all. I’m the best bitch here.’ It’s about the journey to fame and stardom. It starts out and this girl, she’s like, ‘Hey, I can be the answer.’ She’s real ambitious and she’s like, ‘Yo, I’m here. I can do this. All the same shit that you got these bitches doing, I could do.’?”
It would later peak at #12 in the UK, in Scotland, and at #7 in Ireland. It was certified platinum (600k copies sold) in the UK on December 30th, 2016:
Its music video, shot in summer 2011 in Montreal, was uploaded to Youtube on September 12th of that year, was directed by Vincent Tsang, and features cameos from Lunice and Jacque Greene. It also created a parade of iconic gifs:
and currently sits at 147 million views (and counting).
Queen.
My thoughts:
Live footage of me since 2011, every time I listen :
Was there really ever any real doubt that this would be our winning song? Besides some really rather foolish posts about it falling at #4 (lol), it never sunk lower than #3, with “Prom”, “L.E.S. Artistes”, and “LMK” all shuffling around before more ballots settled the score. It was only ever this song that was truly going to be the real victor here, because in a world (and rate) of pivotal moments in music created by Black women, it has stood the test of time and only become more iconic with the passing of each year, in ways that many of these other entries have not. It’s also one of my favorite songs of all time.
My first post about AZ was over six years ago on Popjustice, though I’d been listening to her since the thread had opened two months before. There’s that popular quote about “you may not remember what people said/did, but you’ll remember how they made you feel”, and funnily enough, that’s my takeaway from Azealia’s beginning in music, and how it's impacted me in the years since. I remember seeing someone so thirsty, so hungry, so driven to be - which I needed as a college graduate moving back into his parents' basement at 22. I’mma keep it cute here cos that album write-up bout to be l-i-t… but the fire that began burning for AZ back in 2011 for me has only grown bigger, fiercer, and more potent as the years have gone by, including one of my favorite memories from March 2013, in an Amsterdam nightclub with @Rmx and @The Holy Spearit, hearing this for the first time out, as its music video played on the club’s multiple TV screens, and getting getting every little last available bit of life in those brief minutes. Moments like those, and many to come, would prove again and again how she’s one of the most naturally talented people that I’ve had the good fortune to throw coins at, to SEE LIVE (where I could have possibly just DIED), and to watch grow and mature through the assortment of shit thrown at her, but also, the shitstorms that she’s created herself. And the irony being that that middle-eight, which she mentioned having been written as a message to herself when trying to get the long-form body of work (that would later become Broke with Expensive Taste three years later) out to the masses and overcome her own doubts and fears, still rings true through all of the bullshit she’s slowly but surely working herself out of up to the present. I’m mad proud of her – as an artist, yes… but as a person? A million times even more. She’s been to hell and back and has only warmed my heart further through it all.
Back to our winner tho…
How is this someone’s lead single? How is this someone’s greatest moment in music, which hasn’t fallen off in sheer eu-phor-i-a in the six + years that it’s been knocking around? It is iconic. It is legendary. The screaming bits, the sung middle-eight, that mad, rushing urgency in the rap that follows? It even opens iconically, lol. It’s bulletproof, it changes lives; it offers world peace. This is a winner, not only in our rate, but in Azealia’s story overall. Who else basically built their career offa one track... and still maintains today.
Only a legend.
Now, onto y’all:
@Posh Spears (11) - I can’t relate to people who don’t completely lose their shit whenever they hear “Hay, I can be the answer.” The day this song gets old is the day the world ends.
@Sprockrooster (9) - That hook. Iconic.
@Jwentz (10) - Damn if this isn't the most revolutionary song in this entire rate.
@Bangers&Bops (10) - Christ this song is just so gooooood. When she burst out with this song way back when, it was like getting whiplash by the beat and her spitting lyrics left and right. She made a stan out of me then.
@KingBruno (10) - Probably one of the best debut singles by a modern hip hop artist. The anger Azealia shows in here is amazing. Her contstant change of vocal height makes it seem like there are many different characters represented, and that all over a beat consisting of rave mixed with hip hop and R&B styles.
@Kuhleezi (10) - What even is this song? One of the most relentless bangers ever most definitely.
@happiestgirl (10) - A masterpiece
@He (10) - A jam for the ages. Literal perfection and the introduction to an incredible talent. I wish the middle 8 hadn’t been such a prophecy. But I still have hopes for pretty AB
Check this out sis: http://forum.popjustice.com/threads/azealia-banks-general-discussion.23894/page-5#post-1843828
@ohnostalgia (10) - BISEXUAL SEXY ZEITGEIST CAPTURING “BUT I’’M HERE, BINCH” ANTHEM.
@constantino (10) - HOW HAS THIS STILL HELD UP??? Truly one of the greatest songs of all time. I’ve listened to this consistently since 2012 and I never once tired of it. I was so fucking excited about her and borderline obsessed with her at the time, so I feel that rush and optimism every time I hear it, despite how downhill it went from there...ddd.
@Solenciennes (10) - Such a monumental debut, everything about this is still so fresh and emphatic. The brash lyrics, the beat that never lets up, the triumphant launch into the “bitch I’m in the 212”… aarrrgghhh I stan so hard!!!
@Trouble in Paradise (10) - If you were into clubs when this song came out, then you'll forever love it. Listening to it now still gets me pumped. Each section is so flawless.
And some random PJ kiis:
*tears up*
Music video/live performances:
THIS PERFORMANCE IS ICONIC. LITERALLY. THE MIDDLE EIGHT!!! You’ll probably recognize this GIF, which coincidentally comes at the 2:12 mark (dddddddd)!
And finally…I got to see her back in October, as a little birthday gift to myself:
I can die happily now.
Hope you all had fun with me, but all the women here too.
Album write-up’s coming tomorrow or Saturday.
xoxo,
@Mr.Arroz
212 (feat. Lazy Jay)
9.949
Highest score: 11 x 6 (@theelusivechanteuse, @kermit_the_frog, @Posh Spears, @ThisIsRogue, @Heaven on Earth, @1991)
10 x 28 (@Petty Mayonnaise, @constantino, @2014, @Sanctuary, @paperboyfriendd, @Jwentz, @CorgiCorgiCorgi, @Bangers&Bops, @Remorque, @soratami, @Solenciennes, @ufint, @LE0Night, @inevitable, @R92, @lalaclairi_, @JamesJupiter, @beyoncésweave, @K94, @ohnostalgia, @KingBruno, @Kuhleezi, @happiestgirl, @Trouble in Paradise, @AshleyKerwin, @BML, @He)
Lowest scores: 7 x 1 (@A&E)
My score: 10
Track background:
Nah, but for real:
Written by Anaya Green and Jeff Martens along with Azealia herself, with Martens providing production, “212” was officially released on December 6th, 2011, later becoming part of both the 1991 EP, and Broke with Expensive Taste, as track five, after being self-released by Azealia in fall 2011 on Soundcloud and Tumblr. Martens, also known as ½ of Lazy Jay, receives writing and production credits due to their track “Float My Boat” being used as its template, like many other tracks that would end up on the BWET's tracklist.
The Azealia Banks Wikia (ddddddddd) lists this data regarding its reception,
The song received highly positive reviews and acclaim, critics complimented Banks' versatile rapping style as well as her song writing ability. The Guardian gave the song a highly positive review and placed it at number 2 on their The Best Songs of 2011 list. In a review, Michael Cragg praised the song calling it "a startling three and a half minutes of attitude" as well as "incredible." Carrie Battan of Pitchfork Media complimented her "unpredictable vocal range" and wrote, "She clicks between characters and styles casually, effortlessly. No seams. A jaw-slackening demo reel." NME dubbed the song #18 on their 50 Best Tracks Of 2011, calling it "mischievous, quick-witted and full of filthy cunnilanguage: it’s made Azealia Banks, the coolest girl on the planet, and it delivered on 2011’s forward-thinking promise." NPR Music gave the song a positive review and listed it as one of their 100 Favorite Songs Of 2011, calling the song "the raunchiest shut-down of 2011." Pitchfork gave the song its Best New Music accolade and ranked it number 9 on their Top 100 Tracks of 2011 list, writing:
So she's an internet novelty? Hardly. "212" works because its popcraft and its shock tactics are each other's Trojan horses-- concentrate on one and the other sneaks up on you. One reason "ruin you, cunt" feels like such a payoff is that Banks spends an entire verse of quick, unshowy rapping setting up its run of vowels. Banks uses the peaks, breakdowns, and drop-outs of Lazy Jay's bouncy "Float My Boat" to give her Minaj-style vocal-shifts some context: from sassy and chatty during the build ups to cartoon rage as the synths rear up around her at the song's end. If it were judged only on its visceral thrill, "212" would still be one of 2011's best, an unashamed banger in a mostly mid-tempo year. But the more you dig into the song, the more you can hear details and decisions that suggest a scary degree of pop talent.
Azealia also spoke with SPIN magazine in late 2012, remarking about the song’s creation (it was written in April 2011):
This is where the timeline starts to gets blurry — Banks hasn’t had time to sort it out yet. Maybe she’s worried that she doesn’t know how it ends. At some point, the “212” footage she’d shot up in Montreal got edited into a video and put on YouTube. A version of “212” reached the BBC’s Nick Grimshaw, who made it “Record of the Week” on his influential Radio 1 show. That same week, Banks played POP Montreal, opening for Kid Sister. Shortly after, Banks was flown to Paris to meet Adele’s producer, Paul Epworth…
“‘212,’ it came out of a place of desperation,” she says. “But it also came out of a place of anger. It was like, ‘Fuck all y’all. I’m the best bitch here.’ It’s about the journey to fame and stardom. It starts out and this girl, she’s like, ‘Hey, I can be the answer.’ She’s real ambitious and she’s like, ‘Yo, I’m here. I can do this. All the same shit that you got these bitches doing, I could do.’?”
It would later peak at #12 in the UK, in Scotland, and at #7 in Ireland. It was certified platinum (600k copies sold) in the UK on December 30th, 2016:
Its music video, shot in summer 2011 in Montreal, was uploaded to Youtube on September 12th of that year, was directed by Vincent Tsang, and features cameos from Lunice and Jacque Greene. It also created a parade of iconic gifs:
and currently sits at 147 million views (and counting).
Queen.
My thoughts:
Live footage of me since 2011, every time I listen :
Was there really ever any real doubt that this would be our winning song? Besides some really rather foolish posts about it falling at #4 (lol), it never sunk lower than #3, with “Prom”, “L.E.S. Artistes”, and “LMK” all shuffling around before more ballots settled the score. It was only ever this song that was truly going to be the real victor here, because in a world (and rate) of pivotal moments in music created by Black women, it has stood the test of time and only become more iconic with the passing of each year, in ways that many of these other entries have not. It’s also one of my favorite songs of all time.
My first post about AZ was over six years ago on Popjustice, though I’d been listening to her since the thread had opened two months before. There’s that popular quote about “you may not remember what people said/did, but you’ll remember how they made you feel”, and funnily enough, that’s my takeaway from Azealia’s beginning in music, and how it's impacted me in the years since. I remember seeing someone so thirsty, so hungry, so driven to be - which I needed as a college graduate moving back into his parents' basement at 22. I’mma keep it cute here cos that album write-up bout to be l-i-t… but the fire that began burning for AZ back in 2011 for me has only grown bigger, fiercer, and more potent as the years have gone by, including one of my favorite memories from March 2013, in an Amsterdam nightclub with @Rmx and @The Holy Spearit, hearing this for the first time out, as its music video played on the club’s multiple TV screens, and getting getting every little last available bit of life in those brief minutes. Moments like those, and many to come, would prove again and again how she’s one of the most naturally talented people that I’ve had the good fortune to throw coins at, to SEE LIVE (where I could have possibly just DIED), and to watch grow and mature through the assortment of shit thrown at her, but also, the shitstorms that she’s created herself. And the irony being that that middle-eight, which she mentioned having been written as a message to herself when trying to get the long-form body of work (that would later become Broke with Expensive Taste three years later) out to the masses and overcome her own doubts and fears, still rings true through all of the bullshit she’s slowly but surely working herself out of up to the present. I’m mad proud of her – as an artist, yes… but as a person? A million times even more. She’s been to hell and back and has only warmed my heart further through it all.
Back to our winner tho…
How is this someone’s lead single? How is this someone’s greatest moment in music, which hasn’t fallen off in sheer eu-phor-i-a in the six + years that it’s been knocking around? It is iconic. It is legendary. The screaming bits, the sung middle-eight, that mad, rushing urgency in the rap that follows? It even opens iconically, lol. It’s bulletproof, it changes lives; it offers world peace. This is a winner, not only in our rate, but in Azealia’s story overall. Who else basically built their career offa one track... and still maintains today.
Only a legend.
Now, onto y’all:
@Posh Spears (11) - I can’t relate to people who don’t completely lose their shit whenever they hear “Hay, I can be the answer.” The day this song gets old is the day the world ends.
@Sprockrooster (9) - That hook. Iconic.
@Jwentz (10) - Damn if this isn't the most revolutionary song in this entire rate.
@Bangers&Bops (10) - Christ this song is just so gooooood. When she burst out with this song way back when, it was like getting whiplash by the beat and her spitting lyrics left and right. She made a stan out of me then.
@KingBruno (10) - Probably one of the best debut singles by a modern hip hop artist. The anger Azealia shows in here is amazing. Her contstant change of vocal height makes it seem like there are many different characters represented, and that all over a beat consisting of rave mixed with hip hop and R&B styles.
@Kuhleezi (10) - What even is this song? One of the most relentless bangers ever most definitely.
@happiestgirl (10) - A masterpiece
@He (10) - A jam for the ages. Literal perfection and the introduction to an incredible talent. I wish the middle 8 hadn’t been such a prophecy. But I still have hopes for pretty AB
Check this out sis: http://forum.popjustice.com/threads/azealia-banks-general-discussion.23894/page-5#post-1843828
@ohnostalgia (10) - BISEXUAL SEXY ZEITGEIST CAPTURING “BUT I’’M HERE, BINCH” ANTHEM.
@constantino (10) - HOW HAS THIS STILL HELD UP??? Truly one of the greatest songs of all time. I’ve listened to this consistently since 2012 and I never once tired of it. I was so fucking excited about her and borderline obsessed with her at the time, so I feel that rush and optimism every time I hear it, despite how downhill it went from there...ddd.
@Solenciennes (10) - Such a monumental debut, everything about this is still so fresh and emphatic. The brash lyrics, the beat that never lets up, the triumphant launch into the “bitch I’m in the 212”… aarrrgghhh I stan so hard!!!
@Trouble in Paradise (10) - If you were into clubs when this song came out, then you'll forever love it. Listening to it now still gets me pumped. Each section is so flawless.
And some random PJ kiis:
*tears up*
Music video/live performances:
THIS PERFORMANCE IS ICONIC. LITERALLY. THE MIDDLE EIGHT!!! You’ll probably recognize this GIF, which coincidentally comes at the 2:12 mark (dddddddd)!
And finally…I got to see her back in October, as a little birthday gift to myself:
I can die happily now.
Hope you all had fun with me, but all the women here too.
Album write-up’s coming tomorrow or Saturday.
xoxo,
@Mr.Arroz
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It literally destroyed the competition looking at the big jump in average. Well done everyone (can everyone voting in this please also vote in the next winners rate, we cannot let this slip out easily).
There really is nothing quite like 212.
Mr.Arroz
Staff member
he/him/his
Thank you again, everyone, for participating. The holiday season ended up being a huge emotional mess for me overall, and even in January, so coming to this rate and locking myself in my bedroom to sit in front of my desktop and enjoy this music without the world for just a little bit everyday has been a huge gift. I didn't start this thinking I could finish and you all rejuvenated me to go again for each result. I'm super grateful that you stuck around.
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