For this blog entry, I was asked to pick a song and talk about its structure/form. “212” by Azealia Banks is her debut single that came out in 2012. The song can be categorised under the dance/electronic and hiphop/rap genres. It follows an interesting but familiar structure, since Banks puts a twist on the typical song format : intro, verse 1, pre-chorus, chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro.
(Stern, 2017)
The song starts with an intro, with the drum loop that flows all throughout the song. Then we have the first verse, as she starts to rap. There is a sort of pre-chorus as the last line of the verse is repeated over and over again, which eventually brings us to the chorus (hook A). The song transitions into the bridge, where Azealia sings for the first time. It builds up and then drops into a new chorus (hook B). It then transitions into the old chorus again (hook A), and finally transitions back to the 2nd chorus (hook B).
To sum up, according to my analysis, 212 follows this song structure : intro, verse 1, pre-chorus, chorus A, bridge, chorus B, chorus A, chorus B.Banks, A. (2014) ‘212’, Broke with Expensive Taste [Spotify]. United States, Prospect Park. Available at : https://open.spotify.com/track/6no1mklq4BJBg7KJ6Dly7N (Accessed: 26 November 2023).
Stern, M. (2017) Azealia Banks opens up about her journey from stripping to rap stardom, The Daily Beast. Available at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/azealia-banks-opens-up-about-her-journey-from-stripping-to-rap-stardom (Accessed: 01 December 2023).