DAILY FIX: Azealia Banks, "212"

This video, which has been blowing up the internet for the last little while but just came to my attention over this long holiday weekend, is the debut track from 20 year old NYC artist Azealia Banks (according to her twitter, her first name is pronounced AH-ZEE-LEE-YAH). The ferociously catchy backbeat and her impressive mic skills combine to create one of the most immediately striking hit singles I've heard all year. I've been playing this song nonstop since I first heard it two days ago, and clearly I'm not the only one doing so, as it's garnered close to 400,000 plays on youtube since it was posted two months ago. Banks is a graduate of New York's La Guardia High School Of The Performing Arts (other alumni include Liza Minelli, Al Pacino, and Nicki Minaj), and has previously collaborated with Major Lazer as well as appearing in the Nike Sportswear 1Love video series. "212" is a sneak preview of her debut album, which will drop next year. Right now, most of it hasn't even been recorded yet, but if "212" is any indication, we should be able to expect great things once it finally shows up.