She's fresh, she's wild, she's sporadic, she's trendy and she's willing to try it all! In a nutshell, that's Santogold. Songwriter, producer, and singer Santogold, born Santi White is no newbie in the music industry. The Philadelphia native stepped onto the scene in 2003 as lead singer for the Philadelphia-based punk rock/ska band Stiffed.
According to Wikipedia, (such a reliable source, I know) in 2005 Coldplay announced Santogold would be the opening act for most of the stops on their North American tour. Go figure, a black chick opening for Coldplay. I LOVE it! She's taking it to the next level y'all. Santo's unique blend of hip hop, reggae, pop, and punk rock has appealed to artists such as Pharell of N.E.R.D, Björk and Spank Rock.
As far as music influences, here's what White had to say about being typecast as a black artist.
White caused controversy when pointing out that people were labeling her music as hip hop and R&B because she is black, saying that that was racist. "Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Are you shocked that Good Charlotte isn't into R&B? Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off. I didn't grow up as a big fan of R&B and, like, what is the big shocker? It's stupid."
The music industry has tried to put a choke hold on artists by simply equating race and genre. This young lady clearly breaks the mold! Just check out her remake of 1980s LL Cool J hit I Need Love. Who remakes a 20 year old James Todd love ballad? I mean come on :o) (It's kinda dope though)
My boyfriend always tells me Hip Hop is headed in this direction. Well baby, I think you're right! And if it is, we have a lot of creative genius ahead.
Try her here--> http://www.myspace.com/santogold
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17316664/artist_to_watch_santogold
More Santogold below!
****UPDATE**** Santogold nominated for a 2008 MTV music award
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