Santi White

born on 25/9/1976 in Philadelphia, MS, United States

Alias Santigold

Santigold

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Santigold

Santi White (born September 25, 1976), better known by her stage name Santigold (formerly Santogold),[1] is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her debut album Santogold was released to positive reviews in 2008.[2][3] Her second album Master of My Make-Believe was released in April 2012,[4] also to critical acclaim. She is a mezzo-soprano.

Education

She attended Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US and later attended college at Wesleyan University, where she double-majored in music and African-American studies.

Early career

She attained her pseudonym in the 1990s after a friend gave it to her as a nickname.[5] She worked for Epic Records as an A&R representative but left the position to co-write and executive produce HowIDo, the singer Res's debut album.[6]

She was the singer of Philadelphia-based punk rock band Stiffed,[7] which released the albums Sex Sells (2003) and Burned Again (2005): Both were produced by Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer.[8] While in the band, White was offered a solo contract by Martin Heath of London-based independent label Lizard King Records.[9]

Career

Santogold, tour and other performances, 200710

Her first singles as a soloist "Creator" and "L.E.S. Artistes" received attention from Internet media outlets in 2007,[10] and her debut album Santogold, conceived with fellow Stiffed member John Hill,[11][12] was issued in April 2008. The record featured appearances and production work from Chuck Treece, Diplo, Switch, and Jonnie "Most" Davis, among others.[13]

Santogold was critically acclaimed by both Entertainment Weekly and Spin,[2][12] while "L.E.S. Artistes" made the number 2 position on Rolling Stone's "Singles of the Year" list.[14]Santogold was sixth on the magazine's "Albums of the Year" list.[15] "Creator," along with "Lights Out,"[16] appeared in commercials in the US[17][18] and the UK.

During the summer of 2008, she released a mixtape CD, Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub, that was well received by Pitchfork[19] and NME.[20] To support Santogold, she toured with M.I.A. and Björk,[13] and in June 2008, Coldplay invited her to be their opening act in the US.[21] Her own US tour was called Goldrush Tour,[22] and upon its completion, she supported Jay-Z and Kanye West on a number of their shows[23][24] and the Streets at BBC's Electric Proms music festival.[25] She finished the tour opening for Beastie Boys for three concerts on their get-out-the-vote Swing State Tour.[26]

In February 2009, White announced that she changed her stage name to Santigold for reasons related to a possible lawsuit from director Santo Victor Rigatuso, who produced the 1985 movie Santo Gold's Blood Circus.[27] She finished the second leg of the tour in August 2009 at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago[28] with Billboard noting that she "delivered a bright set and drew a headliner-sized audience" for a late afternoon concert.[28] Before leaving the stage, she announced she was preparing to write her next album.[28]

Master of My Make-Believe, tour and other work, 201113

In 2011, she published the song "Go!" which featured Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The track was produced by Switch, Q-Tip and herself, and NME praised it as a "brittle and brilliant brawler of a track" with "great reverberating militaristic kettle-drum booms."[29]

She announced the follow-up to Santogold would be out in spring 2012: It was recorded in part in Jamaica and co-produced in part with TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek.[4] Talking to Billboard, she described her forthcoming album as "sonically eclectic but with some epic curveballs thrown into the mix."[30] The singer further said, "I want it to be about creating your own reality. I have a song called The Keepers: Were the keepers, while we sleep in America our house is burning down."[4] "Big Mouth", the first track and video from the album was issued in late January as a free download.[31] In February, an animated video for "Disparate Youth" was uploaded to her official YouTube channel.[32] as the first single of the album. It was also released on iTunes in the US and later along with several remixes, in the UK.[32]

Master of My Make-Believe was released in late April[33] to critical acclaim.[34] "Disparate Youth" was featured in a December 2012 advertisement for the 2013 Honda Civic[35] and a piano version of the song was used in a 2012-13 ad for Direct Line insurance.[36] She then went on tour and opened a few shows on the US leg of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' I'm with You Tour.[37] In May and June, she headlined her own US shows before a summer European tour. On August 15, 2012, she performed on the deck of the USS Intrepid as part of "Stephest Colbchella '012: Rocktaugustfest" on The Colbert Report, and on May 9, 2013, she appeared as herself on The Office episode "A.A.R.M.." She revealed that an album is in the works for 2014, calling it the most ambitious thing she's done to date.

Collaborations

Besides her own work, White 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.[38] She also co-composed and produced a majority of Res' album How I Do in 2001,[6] and later appeared on the song "Stay in Line" on GZA's 2002 album, Legend of the Liquid Sword.[39]

In 2007, White appeared on Mark Ronson's Version, performing on a cover of The Jam's "Pretty Green", in her first performance credited as Santogold. White co-wrote Lily Allen's "Littlest Things" with Ronson,[18] and co-composed for Ashlee Simpson with Kenna, including the lead single "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)".[40] In 2008, she recorded a song with N.E.R.D's Pharrell Williams and the Strokes' Julian Casablancas for Converse.[41] Santigold 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."[42] 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".[43] It appeared on the soundtrack to the Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious.[44] 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.[45] "Brooklyn Go Hard" debuted on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 62.[46]

In 2009, she sang on the track "Whachadoin?" with M.I.A., the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner, and Spank Rock for DJ collective N.A.S.A.'s debut album, The Spirit of Apollo,[47] as well as a song entitled "Gifted" with Kanye West and Lykke Li.[48] She then collaborated with Basement Jaxx's on their Scars album, adding her vocals to the song "Saga". Unstoppable with Drake and Lil Wayne.

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, lending her vocals to 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, Santigold was one of the guests on Amadou & Mariam's album, Folila, and featured on the track "Dougou Badia."[49] In 2013, she appeared on ASAP Rocky's debut album, Long. Live. ASAP featuring on the track, "Hell."

Style and influences

White has a mezzo-soprano vocal range,[50] and her style has been compared often to that of M.I.A.[51] In response to the comparison, White stated 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."[13][52] 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."[53]

White has also revealed her appreciation of new wave music,[13] saying that "My Superman" is an interpolation of a Siouxsie and the Banshees' song, "Red Light."[54] The singer has also stated that she is inspired by 1980s pop music, feeling that it "had a depth to it," and that she hopes to "bring back some more good pop songs."[13] The singer's main influences are James Brown and Aretha Franklin[55] and she has cited Devo as her "ultimate favorite band."[56] White also grew up listening to a lot of reggae, jazz, Fela Kuti and Nigerian music.[55]

Legacy

Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Mitchell, under the moniker of Bob Evans, stated that Santigold's work was an influence for the creation of his fourth album Familiar Stranger.[57] As part of his performance for the breakfast program of national Australian radio station Triple J in March 2013, Mitchell performed a rendition of Santigold's song "Disparate Youth"the performance occurred during the conclusion of "O Week" activities (orientation week for Australian universities) at the ABC studios in Melbourne, Australia.[58]

Discography

Main article: Santigold discography

Studio albums

  • Santogold (2008)
  • Master of My Make-Believe (2012)

Singles

  • "Creator" (2008)
  • "L.E.S. Artistes" (2008)
  • "My Drive Thru" (2008)
  • "Lights Out" (2008)
  • "Say Aha" (2008)
  • "Go!" (featuring Karen O) (2011)
  • "Big Mouth" (2012)
  • "Disparate Youth" (2012)
  • "The Keepers" (2012)

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

References

  1. Michaels, Sean, Santogold changes her name to Santigold, The Guardian, guardian.co.uk, February 12, 2009. URL accessed on April 1, 2010.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Greenblatt, Leah. Santogold review Entertainment Weekly. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  3. Sullivan, Caroline. (9 May 2008). CD: Santogold The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2011
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Critcheloe, Cody (November 2011). Black And Gold Santigold. V Magazine. Retrieved on 2-1-2012.
  5. Caldwell, Lindsey (January 30, 2007). "24 Carat". The Fader.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Brian Hiatt (November 14, 2007). Artist to Watch: Santogold. Rolling Stone. Wenner Publishing. Retrieved on May 13, 2008.
  7. Stiffed at MySpace
  8. Hogan, Marc (August 29, 2007). New Music: Santogold: "You'll Find a Way (Switch & Graeme Remix)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on March 7, 2008.
  9. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named allmusic
  10. Sheperd, Julianne, Hip-Hops Newest Faces: Indie, Fierce and Female, The New York Times, The New York Times Company, January 27, 2008. URL accessed on March 7, 2008.
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  29. "New Tracks You Have To Hear This Week" NME. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011
  30. Lipshutz, Jason. "Santigold Promises 'Dynamic, Powerful' Second Album This Fall". Billboard.com. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011
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  33. Pelly, Jenn (21 February 2012). Santigold Album Gets Release Date. Pitchfork.com. Retrieved on 2012-2-21.
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  36. "Direct Line - Take the Direct Line - Advert Details". TVAdMusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-08
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  38. Beneath The Surface. Discogs. Zink Media, Inc.. Retrieved on May 23, 2008.
  39. Legend of the Liquid Sword. Discogs. Zink Media, Inc.. Retrieved on July 5, 2008.
  40. Rashod Ollison (April 22, 2008). Ashlee Simpson is back, as plastic as ever. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on April 23, 2008.
  41. The Strokes team up with Santogold. NME. IPC Media (May 16, 2008). Retrieved on May 18, 2008.
  42. Jason Gregory (May 15, 2008). Exclusive: Santogold Records Song With The Strokes And Pharrell Williams. Gigwise.com. Retrieved on May 18, 2008.
  43. Jay-Z samples Santogold for B.I.G. biopic. In the Mix (December 2, 2008). Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
  44. Shaheem Reid (December 3, 2008). 'Notorious' soundtrack details revealed: features Jay-Z, Jadakiss, Faith Evans, Biggie's Son. MTV News. MTV. Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
  45. Jay-Z, Santogold, Killers, U2 launch new Red charity download service. NME. IPC Media (December 2, 2008). Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
  46. Jonathan Cohen (December 11, 2008). Britney debuts big, but T.I. tops Hot 100. Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
  47. Jonathan Cohen (October 8, 2008). N.A.S.A. blasts off with Kanye, M.I.A., Waits. Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved on October 9, 2008.
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  49. Peverelli, Benoit (6 January 2012). Amadou & Mariam Enlist Santigold, TV on the Radio, Nick Zinner for New Album. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 10-1-2012.
  50. Baca, Ricardo, If Madonna notta for you, try these chanteuses, Denver Post, April 27, 2008.
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  53. Shepherd, Julianne, www.nytimes.com, www.nytimes.com, January 27, 2008. URL accessed on April 18, 2011.
  54. "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."
  55. 55.0 55.1 Santi achieves gold standard. Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror (May 23, 2008). Retrieved on May 26, 2008.
  56. Q&A with Santogold The Vanderbilt Hustler November 17, 2008. Insidevandy.com (November 17, 2008). Retrieved on April 18, 2011.
  57. Denham Sadler (4 January 2013). We chat with Bob Evans. Tone Deaf. Tone Deaf. Retrieved on 15 March 2013.
  58. triplejtv (6 March 2013). Like A Version: Bob Evans - Disparate Youth (Santigold cover) (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved on 15 March 2013.

Further reading

External links

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This page was last modified 19.04.2014 16:39:44

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