212 (song)

"212"
Single by Azealia Banks featuring Lazy Jay
from the EP 1991 and the album Broke with Expensive Taste
ReleasedDecember 6, 2011 (2011-12-06)[1]
Recorded2011
GenreHip house[2][3]
Length3:25
LabelSelf-released
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Lazy Jay
Azealia Banks singles chronology
"212"
(2011) 		"Liquorice"
(2012)
Music video
"212" on YouTube

"212" (pronounced "two-one-two") is the debut single by American rapper Azealia Banks. The song features "Lazy Jay", an alias for Belgian DJ Jef Martens and his brother Toon. Their song "Float My Boat" provided the musical base of the track and they also produced Banks' version. The song title is a reference to 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).[4][5]

The song was 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 also placed the song's music video on their list of the '100 Greatest Music Videos', and the song itself on their revised list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"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.[6] As of 2017, it is one of the top 100 biggest hip hop songs of all time in the United Kingdom.[7]

  1. ^ Gigs, and Tours (December 6, 2011). "The brilliant '212' by BBC Sound of 2012 nominee @AZEALIABANKS is available to download on iTunes now!". Twitter. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  2. ^ Wood, Mikael (June 18, 2012). "Aural Fixation". Paper. Paper Publishing Company. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  3. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (June 28, 2018). "The 100 Greatest Songs of the Century – So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 31, 2023. After being dropped by XL Recordings, Banks self-released this gem, a bawdy, galloping hip-house cut...
  4. ^ Gigs, and Tours (December 6, 2011). "The brilliant '212' by BBC Sound of 2012 nominee @AZEALIABANKS is available to download on iTunes now!". Twitter. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  5. ^ Banks, Azealia (February 21, 2013). "Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013. I've written ALL new material for this record..... Except for 212 lol.
  6. ^ "Zola Jesus Fresh Off Stage". BBC. September 26, 2011.
  7. ^ "The Official Top 100 biggest Hip-Hop Songs of all time". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.