Azealia Banks releases great long-awaited album
I should start this review by saying I love experimental artists. At times, I don’t necessarily love their music, but I love that they push boundaries in the pursuit of new sounds, and that is why I love Azealia Banks.
Worth the wait · Azealia Banks found success with her 2011 single “212,” but her album took a long time to finally be released. Now that Broke with Expensive Taste has finally come out, however, she has not disappointed. – Photo courtesy of Prospect Park
Her first single, “212,” came out three years ago, and instantly found an audience with its raunchy lyrics and unique composition. Now, she has finally graced the world with her debut album, Broke With Expensive Taste. It’s by no means perfect and reflects an artist who has struggled with balancing her personal life with her craft, but Banks’s sound is like nothing I’ve heard before, and her album is worth listening to, if only because one of her many genre-ambiguous tracks that finds its way into your heart.
Spanning three years of Banks’s life, Broke With Expensive Taste explores many experimental sounds and includes everything from Latin beats to stomp the yard-esque snares, but the one constant is Banks’ unwillingness to conform. Banks sings along the melodies’ off-beats with a signature lyricism that constantly pushes her songs forward and uses every instrument imaginable. It is not unheard of to hear only a xylophone and 808s, just like it is not unheard of for Banks to employ this signature singing style to a Latin track, speaking Spanish for half a song. “212” was an instant hit because Banks did not let up, pushing a strong backbone and borderline offensive lyrics, but her lack of control with her words has put her in hot water over the years, arguably tanking her career.
Banks has run into trouble many times since she first stepped on the scene, burning bridges with artists all across the music industry with her abrasive social media usage and lack of filter. She has attracted media attention because of disputes with everyone from T.I. to Perez Hilton, and has shown little remorse while bashing artists like Disclosure and Pharrell, slowly shrinking her fanbase until her newest album, which was announced with only a tweet.
“Voila!!!! Here it is… ‘Broke With Expensive Taste!’ … Enjoy!”
Her marketability has tanked due to her unrelenting public image, but there are plenty of artists who rely solely on their music to save their careers, and in a way it’s admirable. Chief example: Kanye West. Arguably the most accomplished artist of the decade, West is also one of the most disliked artists in the world. He does little to change his arrogant image, but with all he has accomplished his fanbase is still as strong if not stronger than when he released his first album. West and Banks let their music speak for them, and this album certainly speaks volumes for Banks’s musical ability.
One song that truly shows Banks’s ability to experiment and find success is the second track on Broke With Expensive Taste, “Gimme a Chance.” Employing aspects of disco and house in the first half of the track and then switching in to marimba and Latin dance music in the latter half, the song is all over the place. Through all this, the New York native ties the song together with her lyrical ability. She even begins to sing in Spanish at the switch and does so flawlessly, connecting both parts of the song in a way I think only she could. Every song is wildly different yet intricately connected, demonstrated by the fact that the song directly after “Gimme a Chance,” titled “Desperado,” employs an old school hip-hop beat and otherworldly tones but somehow feels comfortable directly after the Latin track.
Banks had an impossible amount of resistance while crafting her album, especially with her label Interscope Records who eventually dropped the project. Luckily, when Banks was let out of her contract, she was allowed to take all her tracks recorded with her, which make up most of the album. Her style is certainly eclectic, and without a solid social image, it is clear that Interscope simply didn’t know how to handle the young artist. Thankfully Banks finished her album, and it is miles ahead of anything I’ve heard in the last year in sound. This is not to say that every song is a hit, but that the genre-bending style Banks is so apt to employ is the future of the industry.
Listeners are increasingly looking for the next big thing, and Banks is it. She melds genres in a way no other artist can and does so with so much spunk and style that it feels completely natural despite being completely unique. In a culture based on short attention spans, Banks captures listeners in a way that many artists haven’t. Based in Harlem, a melting pot of music culture, Banks absorbed everything around her, and her album reflects this fusion, making it one of the most interesting listens of the year.
Matt Burke is a sophomore majoring in film production. He is also deputy design director at the Daily Trojan. His column, “Notes on Notes,” runs Thursdays.