10 Greatest Debut Singles Of All Time

1. Azealia Banks – 212

Yes. Yes I know.

Over Britney. Over Arctics. Over Iggy.

After spending an entire decade shooting the promise of this single up the wall it feels weird to be crediting Azealia Banks with the single greatest debut single of all time… then I hear those plutonium powered dancehall drums and I remember that’s exactly what it is. An utterly staggering confection that came out of nowhere, dazzling all who heard it and sparking all sort of thoughts about what could possibly come next.

Turns out what was to come next was some deeply problematic behaviour and some decent tunes, but if anything, that doesn’t take away from 212’s legacy. It may even heighten it. Because make no mistake, there’s more cheek, hooks, quotable (but not printable!) lines, and sheer force of personality in these 3 minutes and 24 seconds than in several other music careers.

That’s even before you get to Banks’ sheer skill on the mic. Cycling through flows, cadences and rhyme schemes like it’s absolutely nothing shot through with an Elle Woods level “what, like it’s hard?” smirk. In any other scenario, how far she fell afterwards would be a sad waste of talent, but a song like this would take pride of place on anyone’s legacy.

And there’s a s**t-ton of C-bombs too, what’s not to love?

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