Azealia Banks | 1991

The only downside of Azealia Banks's mildly slept-on debut EP is that her wildfire YouTube classic "212" was anything but subtle (recall: "I guess that cunt gettin' eaten"), whereas the remaining 13 minutes of music here require more time to sink in than the average Grizzly Bear fan would assume. So if you're still spinning 1991 and haven't resigned yourself to "I'll just wait for the album" (upcoming full-length Broke with Expensive Taste is expected later this year), kudos for squeezing a richer experience out of what first scanned to most as "212" plus B-sides. Despite what you may have read, neither Banks's speed-rapping nor her house-y beats are particularly en vogue — they're too clean and straight for EDM's big rock-and-roll moment, and nothing here contains anything that would pass for a hook on the Hot 100. Actual singing flits in toward the end of the genuinely 1991-sounding "1991" and "Liquorice," as well as the dangerous "212" itself, and the occasional quotable line zips by, but the 21-year-old rapper is a groove artist. 1991 is all about the bubble-popping lushness of "Van Vogue" and the hall-of-mirrors shimmer of "Liquorice." It's also about the summer, and showing more of Banks than just her breakout hit.