Azealia Banks has yet to release a proper album, but has managed to sweep the hip-hop circuits with her reggae-infused style and quality rapping skills. Her latest track, “Nathan,” has the underground and surface mainstream hip-hop culture enthralled. The song comes from an upcoming mixtape called “Fantasea,” and includes three tracks in total.
Banks released an E.P. recently which ranked in the Billboard charts at 133. Sure, it isn’t top 40 high, but for a debut E.P. less than 16 minutes long, it’s quite an accomplishment. It was pushed by the power of the single ‘212,’ which featured indie artist Lazy Jay and made quite a place in the club scene for a time.
Her career path sort of follows what Nicki Minaj did mid-2010. Minaj broke onto the scene with a guest verse on Kanye West’s track “Monster.” Without an album of her own, she was quickly name-dropped all over the place. Banks is far more talented, far more interesting, and has a far more talent-filled style that will likely earn her greater longevity in the scene.
Her music is very New York. Rash, raw, and pounding with a deep rhythmic pulse that keeps her right there in the chart-topping pop scene and the arena where “real” music fans appreciate her uniqueness.
Azealia Banks is currently prepping her debut full-length. In this fast-paced music blog-breaking world, she better get to it before people don’t care. That gives her a solid three weeks to a month, and that’s only if the record industry collapses sooner than later.
Listen to “Nathan” below:
