'Nathan' begins with a naked tribal drum beat, which the Harlem born and bred AZEALIA BANKS effortlessly spits over at a million miles an hour.
BANKS' distinctive rap stylings are steroidal in this collaboration with fellow New Yorker STYLES P of LOX. She stutters out a string of dense lyrics in her punchy as-all-hell intonations, over an increasingly frenetic bed of beats and synth.
When STYLES P's verse kicks in, the instrumentation is kicked up a notch, and into a thoroughly techno soundscape – taking 'Nathan' into dizzying heights worthy of a strobe-soaked dance floor.
What's apparent is the dichotomy between two rappers of different age and generation. STYLES P has a mature, commanding tone and turn of phrase in contrast to the hyperactive and aggressive vox of BANKS.
One thing is guaranteed: you will be smacked about by the oodles of 'tude and funky beats we all expect from the 21 year old gutter-mouth behind one of 2011's illest tracks '212'.
Words by Rebecca McCann.
