music-video 12 years ago
various artists #Music Madness

Azealia Banks | 212 (2011)

"212" (pronounced "two-one-two") is the debut single by American rapper Azealia Banks.

The musical base of the track is the song "Float My Boat" by Belgian DJ Jef Martens and his brother Toon (under the alias "Lazy Jay"), who also produced Banks' version.


The song title is a reference to the area code 212 which covers Manhattan, New York City where Banks grew up. It was first released on December 6, 2011 in the United Kingdom as the lead single from her 2012 EP 1991, and is also included on her debut studio album Broke with Expensive Taste (2014).


"212", released first as a free download, was commercially successful in Europe, peaking in the top 20 in the United Kingdom, and on the Benelux charts. In September 2011, it was chosen as the Record of the Week by Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1.


As of 2017, it is one of the top 100 biggest hip hop songs of all time in the United Kingdom.


The song was also lauded by critics; and has been included in many publications' lists of the best songs of the 2010s, with Billboard citing it as one of the songs that "defined the decade".


Rolling Stone placed the music video for it on their list of the '100 Greatest Music Videos', and the song on their revised list of the 500 Greatest Songs.




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