Even though a handful of songs on Azealia Banks’ “Broke With Expensive Taste” are old news, they fit right in and haven’t gotten stale over the last few years.
It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for — or were waiting for and sort of forgot about. ‘ debut full-length, “Broke With Expensive Taste,” dropped out of nowhere. And it’s good.
“212” was released back in 2011, slaying us with a Lazy Jay sample, an enthusiasm for club music, acrobatic rapping, strong singing and cutting lyrics meant to leave a target in a heap on the floor. It turned out that at least one verse was written to herself, threatening obscurity if work wasn’t put in, and then it turned out not to be a totally hollow threat. Since “212,” Banks has released and EP, “1991,” and a mixtape, “Fantasea,” so that’s not nothing. But record label turmoil kept us waiting for the official debut LP, and people aren’t very good at waiting these days. Had she flopped on “Broke With Expensive Taste,” that might have been the end.
Banks didn’t flop, though, and “Broke With Expensive Taste” is wild trip of tricks and treats. In case you’d forgotten, the distant but aggressive shouting of “Yung Rapunxel” is sort of terrifying. Also on the trick side of things: “Heavy Metal and Reflective” is menacing and shifty in a disorienting way. On the treat side, her collaboration with Ariel Pink on the ’60s beach party music send-up “Nude Beach A-Go-Go” is straight-up delightful (and you can’t help but picture her dancing next to a pink Cadillac). “Gimme a Chance” offerings up a funky horn line and rubbery bass line, plus is a very pretty verse of singing in Spanish.
Banks says she’s a vocalist, not a rapper, and it’s not that she’s snootily nitpicking labels. Even when she is rapping, every last vowel has meaning wrung out of it and style laid on it. She’s as sharp as she is fluid and a great singer in a way that isn’t flashy. The other side of what of what makes Banks great has always been, and still is, her ear for the samples and beats she picks up to back her. The thumping and woozy “Paris Is Burning” vibe is still strong on a lot of these tracks — “Chasing Time,” “Luxury,” “Miss Amor” — while “Ice Princess” has the gansta rap production of an earlier generation and “Wallace” sprinkles so many styles over skittering drum machines that you might think you’re hearing separate songs if you periodically skipped ahead 20 seconds.
Even though a handful of songs on “Broke With Expensive Taste” are old news, they fit right in and haven’t gotten stale over the last few years. Still, it’s new tracks that really stand out. “JFK” is a dizzying and sexy show of all Banks’ strengths, which include getting Theopholis London to deliver a dexterous guest verse. And the song she’s named her favorite, “Miss Camraderie,” shines even stronger for the same reasons.
Banks , “having the male co-sign is something that people talk about a lot, especially with female rappers. Having been rejected by so many different people, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I’m back in with these guys, this is my last chance.’ But now I know how much it costs to go in the studio—I could make a thousand dollars and record for 12 hours and do whatever I need to f—ing do. I don’t need these major label guys. These people are not my last shot. I know how to do this. I can do this.” The whole interview is worth reading, partly for some funny and smart commentary on cultural appropriation, but as context for this album and evidence that that this could actually be only the beginning. Let’s hope so.
Follow our news and updates on Twitter, our relationship status on Facebook and our search history on Google +. Or send us a telegram.
Ashley Dean is an editor and designer for YourHub at the Denver Post and a regular contributor to Reverb.
