Three years after her breakout hit 212, Azealia Banks has finally released her debut album. It’s a contender for album of the year. Banks immerses herself in 90s nostalgia, spitting darkly and sharply over tracks full of elements of UK garage, deep house and trap (an aggressive strain of hip-hop). She makes lines such as “Sprite I love the mosta/I ride rolla coasta/I try all the cultures” not only rhyme, but pulsate. It’s childish and kitsch: the use of xylophones creates a tropical timbre… but it’s a knowingly naff, Hawaiian resort kind of tropical. The only mis-step? Nude Beach A Go Go sounds like a Christmas single by an ersatz Beach Boys.
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