Hands to your heart people. What do you think this african american woman's music is all about. R&B? Hippity Hop? Maybe India Arie soul jazz? SHAME ON YOU! Put away all your racist stereotypes and prepare to get blown away by this alarming band. Front Woman Santi White has put together a style that i can only describe as "Missy Elliiot + M.I.A x 80s electro clash"
Listen to her first single "L.E.S artistes" to get a taste of what i'm talking about. This is the official music video
One of the stand out artistes of 2007 was M.I.A and the similarities are striking. Musicwise, they both have a very urban street game that lends itself very well to their song writing. Both have unconventional albums and both seem to have a niche creating beats and quirky genre crossing styles. M.I.A to me was always the delivery Missy Elliot never failed to show. Back when Missy was fresh, the world was waiting to see what she would be coming to hit us with after the success of "Under construction". However, Miss demeanour never showed up. Sure she had some nice hits but cmon.. We all remember "work it" and how it made the hippity hop world crash so joyously into dance clubs, pop radio, churches. When "paper planes"'s beat came out, my first reaction was Missy would have hired 50 cent to murder for that song.
Santogold is NOT as fresh as M.I.A nor as edgy but it is probably more mainstream. First single "L.E.S artistes" could be a Gwen Stefani hit, The chorus has such an 80s rock hook to it , you could almost imagine it being written by the B-52s. In fact, the 80s rock/folk influence is so strong throughout the album; i had to check the track listing numerous times just in case i had skipped to some "best of retro hits" compilation. It was like listening to some schizophrenic artiste. ( listen to "lights out" and "i'm a lady" to hear what i mean) But i must say, i absolutley loved the 80s pop stuff slightly more than the current singles. You get the feeling these simple 80s electro clash numbers sing more closely to who Santi White is about.
The 2nd single is just a dancer's dream. If i could pop, break and hop to the hip, i would be dancing my ass off this track. "Creator" has made it's way to Grey's anatomy and is currently flying up the UK charts. I love this song heaps but i can't help but compare it to the sensational M.I.A's 'paper planes'
Check out this guy doing some nice hopping to the hip to "Creator"
Right, make your way to HMV and give Ms Santi white a chance. And yes, she is a black woman with an indian sounding first name called Miss White who doesnt do "black" music. Like i said, curried sushi.
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