Santigold

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Santigold

Santigold performing in Guadalajara, Mexico 02/2008
Background information
Birth name Santi White
Born September 25, 1976 (1976-09-25) (age 35)[1][2]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres New Wave, dub, electronica, hip-hop[3][4][5]
Occupations Singer, songwriter, record producer, musician, rapper
Years active 2003–present
Labels Lizard King Records (2007)
Atlantic UK, Downtown, Roc Nation
Associated acts Stiffed, NASA, The Lonely Island, Amanda Blank, Spank Rock, Major Lazer, David Byrne, Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Diplo

Santi White (born September 25, 1976), better known by her stage name Santigold (formerly Santogold),[6] is an American songwriter, producer, and singer. Her debut album Santogold was released to positive reviews in 2008.[7][8] Her new album Master of My Make-Believe is announced for spring 2012.[9]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Santi White attended Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then later attended college at Wesleyan University, where she double-majored in Music and African-American studies. The artist got her pseudonym in the 1990s from a friend's nickname for her.[10] She worked for Epic Records as an A&R representative, but left the position to co-write and executive produce How I Do, the debut album from the singer Res.[11]

White was the singer of the Philadelphia-based punk rock band Stiffed,[12] whose 2003 album, Sex Sells, and 2005 album, Burned Again, were produced by Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer.[13] While in this group, she was offered a solo contract by Martin Heath of Lizard King Records.[14]

[edit] Santogold : 2007-10

Her initial singles "Creator" and "L.E.S. Artistes" received attention from Internet media in 2007.[15]

Her debut album, Santogold, was issued in April 2008. It was conceived with fellow Stiffed member John Hill.[16][17] The record featured appearances and production work from Chuck Treece, Diplo and Switch amongst others.[18] Santogold was hailed by both Entertainment Weekly and Spin.[7][17] "L.E.S. Artistes" was placed at number two on Rolling Stone 's Singles of the Year,[19] while Santogold was sixth on their albums of the year list.[20] "Creator", along with "Lights Out",[21] appeared in commercials in the United States[22][23] and in the United Kingdom.

During the summer, the singer released on CD a mixtape called Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub which was well received by Pitchfork[24] and NME.[25]

Santigold at Eurockéennes, July 5, 2008

To promote her debut album, Santi toured with M.I.A. and Björk.[18] In June 2008, Coldplay invited her to be their opening act in the U.S.[26] Santi's own US tour was called Goldrush Tour.[27] After the tour's completion, she supported Jay-Z and Kanye West on a number of their shows[28][29] and then The Streets at BBC's Electric Proms.[30] She finished the tour opening for Beastie Boys for a few concerts.[31]

In February 2009, White announced that she changed her initial stage name to Santigold for reasons related to a possible lawsuit from director Santo Victor Rigatuso, who produced the movie Santo Gold's Blood Circus.[32]

The second leg of the tour finished in August 2009 at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago.[33] Billboard noted that she "delivered a bright set and drew a headliner-sized audience" for a late afternoon concert.[33] Before leaving the stage, she announced she was preparing to compose for another album.[33]

[edit] Master of My Make-Believe : 2011–present

In 2011, Santi published the song "Go!" which featured Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The track was produced by Switch, Q-Tip and Santigold herself. NME praised it as a "brittle and brilliant brawler of a track" with "great reverberating militaristic kettle-drum booms".[34]

Santi announced that the follow-up of Santogold would be out in spring 2012 : it was recorded in part in Jamaica.[9] Talking to Billboard, she described her forthcoming album as "sonically eclectic but with some epic curveballs thrown into the mix".[35] It was co-produced in part with TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek.[9] The singer said about her new record Master of My Make-Believe :[9] "I want it to be about creating your own reality. I have a song called “The Keepers”: “we’re the keepers, while we sleep in America our house is burning down".[9] "Big Mouth", the first track and video from the album was issued in late January as a free download.[36] During the first months of 2012, Santi is set to tour as opener on the U.S. leg of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' I'm with You tour.[37] In February, an animated video for "Disparate Youth" was uploaded to Santi's official YouTube channel,[38] as the first single of the album. "Disparate Youth" was also issued via ITunes in the U.S and a UK version with several remixes would be out in April. The album Master of My Make-Believe would then be released in early May.[39]

[edit] Collaborations

Besides her own work, Santi White (a.k.a Santigold) has also collaborated with a number of other artists. She co-wrote the title track for GZA's 1999 album Beneath the Surface, which featured Res.[40] Santi also went on to co-compose and produce a majority of Res' album How I Do in 2001.[11] White later appeared on the song "Stay in Line" on GZA's 2002 album, Legend of the Liquid Sword.[41]

In 2007, White also appeared on Mark Ronson's Version, performing on a cover of The Jam's "Pretty Green", in her first performance credited as Santogold. Santi co-wrote Lily Allen's "Littlest Things" with Ronson,[23] and co-composed for Ashlee Simpson with Kenna, including the lead single "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)".[42]

In 2008, she recorded a song with N.E.R.D's Pharrell Williams and The Strokes' Julian Casablancas for Converse.[43] Santi explained that the musicians recorded the song separately and did "their own separate thing", "so it ends up being just this weird long song with sort of everybody with lots of their own personalities separate."[44] The song, "My Drive Thru", was available for free on Converse's website.

That same year, a track called "Brooklyn Go Hard", produced by Kanye West contained a sample of Santigold's track "Shove It".[45] It appeared on the soundtrack to The Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious.[46] The song was also released as a download via subscription to (RED)Wire, with a portion of the profits going towards Bono's Product Red organization.[47] "Brooklyn Go Hard" debuted on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 62.[48]

In 2009, she also sang on the track "Whachadoin?" with M.I.A., Nick Zinner, and Spank Rock for DJ collective N.A.S.A.'s debut album, The Spirit of Apollo,[49] as well as a song entitled "Gifted" with Kanye West and Lykke Li.[50] She then collaborated with Basement Jaxx's on their Scars album : she did vocals on the song "Saga".

In 2010, Santigold, alongside Switch and Sam Endicott of The Bravery, helped write the Christina Aguilera songs "Monday Morning" and "Bobblehead" for the album, Bionic.

In 2011, she appeared on the Beastie Boys album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, and was featured on the track "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win". She also took part on The Lonely Island's 2011 album Turtleneck & Chain : she sang on the track "After Party". White collaborated with Spank Rock on "Car Song", for his album Everything Is Boring And Everyone Is A Fucking Liar.

In 2012, Santi was one of the guests on Amadou & Mariam's album, Folila : she was featured on the track "Dougou Badia".[51]

[edit] Style and influences

Santigold at Koko, London, 08/2008

White's style has been compared often to that of M.I.A.[52] White said of the M.I.A. comparison that they are both "women who have similar influences and have worked with some of the same people," but that her "music is different and she wasn't influenced by what the press was saying", adding "I can't think of anybody who would be a better fit of somebody who I'm like... I think what's accurate about that comparison is that she's an artist who has loads of different influences... and is putting things together in a way that's unexpected and genreless."[18][53] Santigold and her friend Amanda Blank have been described as being part of "a new crop of young, multicultural, female acts in the wake of M.I.A. causing a stir on the internet and in indie-label conference rooms."[54] White also stated her liking for new wave music,[18] and added that "My Superman" is an interpolation of a Siouxsie and the Banshees' song, "Red Light".[55] Santigold has stated that she is inspired by 1980s pop music. "I felt that a lot of pop music from the '80s had a depth to it, and I hope to bring back some more good pop songs."[18] The singer cites Devo as her "ultimate favorite band".[56] White also grew up listening to a lot of reggae, jazz, Fela Kuti and Nigerian music; her main influences are James Brown and Aretha Franklin.[57]

[edit] Discography

Main article: Santigold discography

[edit] Albums

  • 2008: Santogold
  • 2012: Master of My Make-Believe

[edit] Singles

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Type Award Result
2008 NME Awards USA Best Breakthrough Artist Won
Q Awards Best Breakthrough Artist Nominated
MTV Europe Music Awards Video Star ("L.E.S. Artistes") Nominated
2009 BRIT Awards International Female Solo Artist Nominated
ASCAP Pop Music Awards Vanguard Award Won

[edit] References

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  2. ^ "Santogold - Biography, pictures, photos, photo, images, latest news, horoscope, lyrics, photo gallery, links". Biggeststars.com. September 25, 1976. http://www.biggeststars.com/s/santogold-home.html. Retrieved July 10, 2010. 
  3. ^ Katie Hintz (April 22, 2008). "Santogold: A Star Grows in Brooklyn - Page 1 - Music - New York". Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-04-22/music/santogold-a-star-grows-in-brooklyn/. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
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  8. ^ Sullivan, Caroline. (9 May 2008). CD: Santogold The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2011
  9. ^ a b c d e Critcheloe, Cody (November 2011). "Black And Gold Santigold". V Magazine. http://www.vmagazine.com/2011/12/black-and-gold-santigold/. Retrieved 2-1-2012. 
  10. ^ Caldwell, Lindsey (January 30, 2007). "24 Carat". The Fader. http://www.thefader.com/articles/2007/01/30/fort-knocks. Retrieved March 7, 2008. 
  11. ^ a b Brian Hiatt (November 14, 2007). "Artist to Watch: Santogold". Rolling Stone. Wenner Publishing. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17316664/artist_to_watch_santogold. Retrieved May 13, 2008. 
  12. ^ Stiffed on Myspace
  13. ^ Hogan, Marc (August 29, 2007). "New Music: Santogold: "You'll Find a Way (Switch & Graeme Remix)"". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/45179-santogold-youll-find-a-way-switch-graeme-remix-stream. Retrieved March 7, 2008. 
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  23. ^ a b Youngs, Ian (January 29, 2008). "Talking Shop: Santogold". BBC News (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7192607.stm. Retrieved March 7, 2008. 
  24. ^ Pytlik, Mark.Santogold/Diplo: Top Ranking. Pitchfork.com. July 29, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010
  25. ^ Priya, Elan. Santogold Vs DiploTop Ranking Mixtape NME. September 5, 2008. Retrieved 15 december 2010
  26. ^ Keith Caulfield and Silvio Pietroluongo (June 18, 2008). "Coldplay headed to No. 1 on Billboard 200, Hot 100". Billboard.com. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003817876. Retrieved June 19, 2008. 
  27. ^ Paul Thompson (September 3, 2008). "Santogold announces North American tour". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/145145-santogold-announces-north-american-tour. Retrieved September 3, 2008. 
  28. ^ Malcolm Venable (October 26, 2008). "Jay-Z Charlottesville show more a celebration of hip-hop". The Virginian-Pilot. Landmark Communications. http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/jayz-charlottesville-show-more-celebration-hiphop. Retrieved October 26, 2008. 
  29. ^ "Santogold added as Kanye West support". Hot Press. Niall Stokes. September 19, 2008. http://www.hotpress.com/news/4805630.html. Retrieved September 19, 2008. 
  30. ^ "Stars gear up for Electric Proms". BBC Radio 1 (BBC). October 22, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7683000/7683638.stm. Retrieved October 27, 2008. 
  31. ^ Jonathan Cohen (October 14, 2008). "Beastie Boys add dates to swing state tour". Billboard.com. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003873932. Retrieved October 26, 2008. 
  32. ^ "Santigold - Pandora Internet Radio". Pandora.com. http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/santigold. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
  33. ^ a b c Molly Brown (9 August 2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santigold Rev Lollapalooza Day 2". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/yeah-yeah-yeahs-santigold-rev-lollapalooza-1004001578.story#/news/yeah-yeah-yeahs-santigold-rev-lollapalooza-1004001578.story. Retrieved 28-1-2012. 
  34. ^ "New Tracks You Have To Hear This Week" NME. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011
  35. ^ Lipshutz, Jason. "Santigold Promises 'Dynamic, Powerful' Second Album This Fall". Billboard.com. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011
  36. ^ "Santigold debuts new song 'Big Mouth' online". NME. 18 January 2012. http://www.nme.com/news/santigold/61523. Retrieved 21-1-2012. 
  37. ^ "Santigold playing Brooklyn show before Red Hot Chili Peppers tour (dates)". Brooklynvegan. 2 January 2012. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2012/01/santigold_playi_3.html. Retrieved 12-1-2012. 
  38. ^ New Santigold: "Disparate Youth" "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". Pitchfork.com. 20 February 2012. http://pitchfork.com/news/45490-new-santigold-disparate-youth/ New Santigold: "Disparate Youth". Retrieved 21-2-2012. 
  39. ^ Pelly, Jenn (21 February 2012). "Santigold Album Gets Release Date". Pitchfork.com. http://pitchfork.com/news/45498-santigold-album-gets-release-date/. Retrieved 21-2-2012. 
  40. ^ "Beneath The Surface". Discogs. Zink Media, Inc.. http://www.discogs.com/release/569220. Retrieved May 23, 2008. 
  41. ^ "Legend of the Liquid Sword". Discogs. Zink Media, Inc.. http://www.discogs.com/release/352991. Retrieved July 5, 2008. 
  42. ^ Rashod Ollison (April 22, 2008). "Ashlee Simpson is back, as plastic as ever". The Baltimore Sun. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/critics/blog/2008/04/ashlee_simpson_is_back_as_plas.html. Retrieved April 23, 2008. 
  43. ^ "The Strokes team up with Santogold". NME. IPC Media. May 16, 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/the-strokes/36666. Retrieved May 18, 2008. 
  44. ^ Jason Gregory (May 15, 2008). "Exclusive: Santogold Records Song With The Strokes And Pharrell Williams". Gigwise.com. http://www.gigwise.com/news/43175/exclusive-santogold-records-song-with-the-strokes-and-pharrell-williams. Retrieved May 18, 2008. 
  45. ^ "Jay-Z samples Santogold for B.I.G. biopic". In the Mix. December 2, 2008. http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/intl/40681/JayZ_samples_Santogold_for_BIG_biopic. Retrieved December 11, 2008. 
  46. ^ Shaheem Reid (December 3, 2008). "'Notorious' soundtrack details revealed: features Jay-Z, Jadakiss, Faith Evans, Biggie's Son". MTV News. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1600597/20081203/notorious_big.jhtml. Retrieved December 11, 2008. 
  47. ^ "Jay-Z, Santogold, Killers, U2 launch new Red charity download service". NME. IPC Media. December 2, 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/jay-z/41412. Retrieved December 11, 2008. 
  48. ^ Jonathan Cohen (December 11, 2008). "Britney debuts big, but T.I. tops Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/britney-debuts-big-but-t-i-tops-hot-100-1003921901.story. Retrieved December 11, 2008. 
  49. ^ Jonathan Cohen (October 8, 2008). "N.A.S.A. blasts off with Kanye, M.I.A., Waits". Billboard. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003871805. Retrieved October 9, 2008. 
  50. ^ Marc Hogan (December 11, 2008). "New Music: N.A.S.A. [ft. Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke Li: "Gifted" [MP3]"]. Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/148113-new-music-nasa-ft-kanye-west-santogold-lykke-li-gifted-mp3. Retrieved December 11, 2008. 
  51. ^ Peverelli, Benoit (6 January 2012). "Amadou & Mariam Enlist Santigold, TV on the Radio, Nick Zinner for New Album". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/news/45010-amadou-mariam-enlist-santigold-tv-on-the-radio-nick-zinner-for-new-album/. Retrieved 10-1-2012. 
  52. ^ "Santogold - Top Ranking [Mixed by Diplo] (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/27789/Santogold-Top-Ranking-%5BMixed-by-Diplo%5D/. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
  53. ^ "Santogold Interview". ITN Music YouTube. April 9, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43hom89GpiQ. Retrieved November 9, 2008. 
  54. ^ Shepherd, Julianne (January 27, 2008). "www.nytimes.com". www.nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/arts/music/27shep.html?ex=1359176400&en=214c39869708eb51&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
  55. ^ "Icon: Siouxsie", The Fader Magazine, The Icon Issue 67, April/May 2010. Page 73. Santigold: "I keep a Rolodex of the women that vocally inspire me. There aren't that many, but she's definitely one of them. I remember one of the first times I heard "Red Light" it was at a party, and I remember going up to the DJ and being like, "Who's this?". It was that good. I kind of stopped and was like... wow. There's not a tremendous amount of women who are bold and forward thinking as artists. I feel like her music, at the time especially, was pretty unique in the way that it sort of matched her style. The freedom of experimenting with this dark place that doesn't have a place often in modern music."
  56. ^ "Q&A with Santogold The Vanderbilt Hustler November 17, 2008". Insidevandy.com. November 17, 2008. http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/8832. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
  57. ^ "Santi achieves gold standard". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. May 23, 2008. http://www.birminghammail.net/what-is-on-in-birmingham/rock-and-pop/2008/05/23/santi-achieves-gold-standard-97319-20965915/. Retrieved May 26, 2008. 

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Santigold
Studio albums
Santogold (2008)
Mixtapes
Singles
"Creator"  · "L.E.S. Artistes"  · "Lights Out"  · "Say Aha"
Guest singles
Tours
Related articles
Board of directors
Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter (Chairman and President)  · John Meneilly (CEO and SEVP)  · Jay Brown (CRSO and CBO)  · Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith (CFO and CCO)  ·
Kwasi Danquah III (CEO and SEVP of Takeover Roc Nation)  · Archie Lamb IV (CRSO of Takeover Roc Nation)  · Jack Foster (CCO of Takeover Roc Nation)  ·
Tor Erik Hermansen (SEVP and CRSO of StarRoc)  · Mikkel Storleer Eriksen (SEVP and CRSO of StarRoc)
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Andrea Martin  · Carmen Key  · Chase J  · Clay Morrison  · James Fauntleroy II  · J Angel  · Makeba Riddick  · Philip Lawrence
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Music Kidz  · Noisia
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D-Nice  · Harley Viera-Newton  · Mark Ronson  · Samantha Ronson  · Solange Knowles
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Mixing/Mastering engineers
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