Being ‘the next big thing’ must come with great pressure. There’s no way Azealia Banks isn’t aware of how high the expectations are after her ‘212’ went viral a few months ago, gaining support from an armada of music blogs and even a tweet from Lily Allen. Playing to a sold-out Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in London tonight, Banks (who shares her last name with Interpol’s frontman Paul Banks – trivial enough to be noted as she’s covered the band’s hit ‘Slow Hands’) seems to have won over the crowd before even getting to business. Banks looks pleased with the packed room, if not almost a little bit impressed.

Along with her DJ (“the best DJ in Canada!” according to Miss Banks herself), Azealia sets the tone quickly, exposing her impressive rapping skills – there’s only so many words one can say within a 10-second frame, but Banks triples that and does it with a cute smile – her sassy rhymes and magic timing. She’s got that raw vibe that has also graced the early tracks of Nicki Minaj, and even when she seemingly starts to turn it down a notch during her rendition of Mark Ronson’s and Amy Winehouse’s version of ‘Valerie’, she interrupts herself with a “fuck that shit!” and gets back to her own material.

Before kicking off her now infamous ‘212’, Banks warns the crowd that now is the time for them to really start dancing and even invites the guys to get their dicks out, and everyone seems happy to comply (to the dancing bit). It’s a short set, but the job is done. Azealia Banks oozes realness, a theme that seems to haunt some of her lyrics. There’s nothing fake about her: no outrageous outfit, no deluded stage persona, and no backing track – just pure talent.

Christian Pambrun