Azealia Banks

[padraig (u.s.)]

212 is the phone area code for Harlem. basically it's just another way to say "Harlem".

as far as specifics, here's the most overt gay reference

you're gay to get discovered in my two-one-deuce/cocklicking in the water by the water the in blue bayou/caught the warm goo [cum] in the your doorag too son/nigga you're a Kool Aid dude [=fruit=gay]

there's also a whole bunch (like 4 or 5) of variations on "what's your dick like/what are you into" (i.e., you're into dick). the whole song is her is big upping herself/Harlem by saying that the imaginary dude she's going at is 1) not from/afraid of Harlem + 2) implying that he's gay/effeminate/unable to please his GF so that she's gonna steal her from him. those 2 themes are mixed together and equated, which is kind of my point. honestly I only picked up on that one cocklicking etc line after a couple listens + was like woah so I googled the lyrics. like I said tho anyone who listens to rap has likely heard far worse so I dunno it just seemed incongruous w/y'know playing fashions shows. oh also some people say it's all just a Nicki Minaj diss but she denied it (+ I'm not sure how that even makes sense).

 

[mistersloane]

I only know that cos it's the only record I've tried to learn the lyrics for for years

Lyrics version here

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UDIealZCXDw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[mistersloane]

Lol double post with padraig. I don't think she's trying to steal him from his girlfriend? I think she's just saying he's not up to the task of dealing with her(self), she's saying that even if she did it with him, his girlfriend would slice him up lol.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

sloane beat me too it I see.

look I'm not saying it's uncomplicated or that she can't flip sexual politics or whatever or that it's necessarily wrong. I'm just...I mean you see what I'm getting at right? I mean a lot of the wordplay is clever, it just seems like a double standard (+ maybe there should be one I dunno) it's just you think someone would say SOMETHING

 

[mistersloane]

sloane beat me too it I see.

look I'm not saying it's uncomplicated or that she can't flip sexual politics or whatever or that it's necessarily wrong. I'm just...I mean you see what I'm getting at right? I mean a lot of the wordplay is clever, it just seems like a double standard (+ maybe there should be one I dunno) it's just you think someone would say SOMETHING

I guess it's...Ok for girls to call guys queers but not blokes or something, I think that's probably why it's been uncommented? And yeah I totally know what you're getting at, I just think it's kinda balanced by the lesbianism somewhat.

 

[IdleRich]

Points taken. Sort of disappointed though - thought the line when she goes "what's your dick like, what are you into?" was a kind of aggressive chat-up line to a guy and I liked it.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

I don't think she's trying to steal him from his girlfriend? I think she's just saying he's not up to the task of dealing with her(self).

maybe, i mean only she really knows right? I'm going to stop repeating myself about ambiguity but you see what I'm getting at right? like, it's not so much that that stuff's in the song as that no one's even like "hey, I wonder what this means". I know she's a girl + Odd Future (or whoever) are not but it seems, yunno, a bit strange.

 

[mistersloane]

I like the fact that she's saying to a guy that he's had jizz in his doo-rag, it's a really great diss.

 

[chow11]

she got brought up in the 2011 hip hop thread but was dismissed immediately

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

I guess really there's a larger question about perception of male vs. female homosexuality, by men + by women, and about the relationships between homophobia + misogyny both in rap (well, in general) in the sense of gay man=bitch=woman. 212 just seems like such a focal point for all that cos you have; a (presumably?) straight girl perpetuating (maybe) the rap trope of effeminate/gay=weak while at the same time talking raw about lesbian sex which is a lot more socially acceptable (to men) as long as the girls are hot but also in this sense possibly threatening to men...I dunno, I ain't no gender theorist. sexuality + gender in rap is mostly very regimented tho + 212 messes with those lines a bit.

I'm done on this anyway, unless anyone has some other big point to make. her real problem is not being able to make any other tunes 1/2 as good (tall order, granted).

 

[rrrivero]

212 is fucking great, I'll admit

 

[mistersloane]

I guess really there's a larger question about perception of male vs. female homosexuality, by men + by women, and about the relationships between homophobia + misogyny both in rap (well, in general) in the sense of gay man=bitch=woman. 212 just seems like such a focal point for all that cos you have; a (presumably?) straight girl perpetuating (maybe) the rap trope of effeminate/gay=weak while at the same time talking raw about lesbian sex which is a lot more socially acceptable (to men) as long as the girls are hot but also in this sense possibly threatening to men...I dunno, I ain't no gender theorist. sexuality + gender in rap is mostly very regimented tho + 212 messes with those lines a bit.

I'm done on this anyway, unless anyone has some other big point to make. her real problem is not being able to make any other tunes 1/2 as good (tall order, granted).

Yeah definitely all this; also a question of power dialectic; since the guy has come up to her (agressor) then a response questioning his sexuality could be seen as valid, and since we dont know the answer (yeah i got spunk in my hair, its yr boyfriend's boo, i'ma fuck him then do you puttin it straight on the 212) then i guess we'll never know, unless someone wants to get me an instrumental and i'll do an answer version...

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

which is all to say: it's complicated. I didn't think we were really disagreeing anyway.

for that answer track all you need's the Lazy Jay track she's rapping over, tho.

all right, I gotta go for real.

 

[blacktulip]

This thread is the antidote to liking 212 by Azealia Banks.

 

[simon silverdollar]

i love the bit at the end of the 212 video, the final 'i'll ruin you cunt' when she has this totally joyful smile. it makes me feel optimistic about humanity

 

[slowtrain]

This song has been played an insane amount of times in our flat.

It is pretty good.

Her other stuff is quite dull though.

 

[rrrivero]

That appears to be the verdict

 

[Sick Boy]

I can honestly say, and perhaps with a degree of shame, that I have not once thought twice about the lyrics, or even whether this song is a good song, because of how attracted I am to her.

 

[baboon2004]

There's no connection (I don't think) other than that a Guardian article herded them both into a 'new female MCs' article, and that's how I heard about her, but Reema Major is fucking awesome

 

[stephenk]

remember that one baltimore club MC girl? what's her name. was on fire for a minute a few years back with everyone dropping her tune and making remixes with the acapella (i did too) and then just disappeared... read an article about some massive personal problems.

i hope this one goes on to do great things, but doesn't seem likely since all the other songs i've checked are entirely forgettable.

rye rye. yep. and even beyond her, i feel like there's a new azealia banks every two years or so. not that i don't like over-the-top confrontational female rap. but she's no trina.
where is crowleyhead when you need him?