"Yung Rapunxel" (stylized as #YUNGRAPUNXEL) is a song recorded by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer/rapper

Azealia Banks Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. In 2 ...

for her debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

titled ''

Broke with Expensive Taste ''Broke with Expensive Taste'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Azealia Banks. In 2011, Banks started working on the album despite not having signed to a record label at that time. A year later, she signed a contract deal with Inters ...

''.

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

released the song as the album's first single to

mainstream radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on April 16, 2013. The track contains an interpolation of the song "

No More Drama ''No More Drama'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on August 28, 2001, by MCA Records. Following the critical and commercial success of her fourth studio album, ''Mary'' (1999), ''No More Drama'' was similarly w ...

" by R&B singer

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

. On March 11, 2013, the song was made available for

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via

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. The song was performed by Banks during the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in June 2013.

Background and release

"Yung Rapunxel" was originally set to be released on March 26, 2013. However, on March 28, 2013, it was announced that the single would drop on April 16, 2013. The first single from ''

Broke With Expensive Taste ''Broke with Expensive Taste'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Azealia Banks. In 2011, Banks started working on the album despite not having signed to a record label at that time. A year later, she signed a contract deal with Inters ...

'' was initially planned to be "Miss Amor/Miss Camaraderie". Nevertheless, on January 28, 2013, Banks acknowledged that the first single was going to be "Yung Rapunxel". The original release date, which was the February 12, was delayed to March, and then again, delayed to April 16, 2013. For unknown reasons, it is now unavailable on iTunes UK. On March 9, the artwork for the single was released via Banks'

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account. Michael Depland from

MTV Buzzworthy MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a d ...

described "Yung Rapunxel" as a 1990s

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

-influenced

hip house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmaste ...

song, which is built on a busy witch hop beat. Meanwhile, ''

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''s Alex Macpherson detailed the track as an

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number.

Critical reception

''Spin'''s Marc Hogan wrote that the song "comes across as a reinvention for her, though it doesn't have quite that track's instantly memorable catchphrases...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

Finally, Banks has left

seapunk Seapunk is a subculture that originated on Tumblr in 2011. It is associated with an aquatic-themed style of fashion, 3D net art, iconography, and allusions to popular culture of the 1990s. The advent of seapunk also spawned its own electronic mu ...

behind to go where she belonged all along: another galaxy".

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's Michael Depland believed that on the track, "A bona fide hip-house banger, Azealia rhymes slickly (and NSFW-ly) over a busy witch-hop beat", that Banks is "back spitting fire over a manic '90s

HI-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

-influenced track, which is cut in between muffled hollers".

Music video

Shooting for the music video began on February 22, 2013, and was continued into March. The official music video was released on April 16, 2013. The video was created by visual artist Jam Sutton. The video features a mostly black-and-white setting, including police running through mist, owls with yellow and red eyes flying in suspended motion, Banks riding a mechanical bull, a rotating Yin & Yang symbol, a disembodied hand with an eye embedded in the palm floating in mid air and Banks with mouths for eyes.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

"Yung Rapunxel" audio
on

{{Authority control 2013 singles Azealia Banks songs Interscope Records singles Polydor Records singles Songs written by Azealia Banks Songs written by Nitti (producer)