I saw on Perez Hilton’s blog that someone said black people don’t ride horses. So what? That means I’m not black because I ride a horse in my video? How closed-minded can you be?
Santogold, the new face in hip-hop and R&B? Lord knows she’s trying to be. Her take on R&B is drawing fans while simultaneously dishing the idea that genres can be both a sound, a color, and her collaborations with artists ranging from Spank Rock and Mark Ronson to Ashlee Simpson and Lily Allen reinforce the plausibility of her success.
On the heels of her April 22 self-titled release, VIBE had a chance to speak with Santogold (real name Santi White) about her quirky art, romantic interests, living in NYC, and continuously rocking out.
VIBE: It’s clear you’re getting busy. But with all of this leading up to the release of your album is any of it wearing on your romantic relationship?
Santogold: It’s actually not difficult at all. My boyfriend [Trevor 'Trouble' Andrew] is a pro snowboarder and also in a band, so he is on the road a lot. We work because I’m barely at home either. Before, when I wasn’t as busy it was tough because he would be gone and I would be at home. I’m grateful to be in a relationship with someone who works and travels a lot like myself, so the strain that would be created if one of us were at home isn’t there. We’re just supportive of each other.
What is attracted you two to each other?
He’s fashionable, so he and I can go shopping together, and he pushes me creatively and is just really fun and amazing. We get each other.
You rep Bed Stuy, Brooklyn now. How is living there different from your hometown Philly?
It is a huge difference. I moved from Mount Airy to Bed Stuy and within the first few nights I heard gunshots and I knew it was not like home. But I live on a great block, with families that have been there for generations. M.I.A. lives around the way, but then you go a block away from me, to Franklin and Fulton by the train and you have guys hollerin' at me, and just a lot of roughnecks and its dangerous. Philadelphia has lots of nice parts. It has really great parks- like people don’t know how fantastic Fairmount Park is. It’s true some parts are worse than others- my dad used to live in North Philly, in Northern Liberties, but now it’s filled with hipsters. The whole city is just more laid back that New York, more conservative and behind in some ways. People don’t have different looks; it’s a lot of long beards with long tall tees and has a really small artist scene.
Philly is slow enough that you can hear your brain working and is a great place to develop yourself artistically. That’s what I did. I was living in NYC when I was working on Stiffed, then I moved back to Philly to develop my ideas afterward. Now I’m back in New York.
How did you and the producer Naeem from Spank Rock meet?
We met in New York, on one of the rare occasions that I actually went out, though Roxy Cottontail, and she introduced us, and Naeem said he loved the Res record. I was like, “really? You listened to it?!’ And he was just really shy and awkward and I loved that. Then I told him we were playing a show and for him to come check it out, but he told me he was banned from the venue, and we just clicked. Now we’re a tight crew; all the people that I’m around are great.
Your uniqueness is thrown into the category of making black rock for white people. What do you make of that?
I totally disagree with giving music color categories. Rock is not white music- its just music, and its unfortunate that there are preconceived notions about music from musicians based on their race. So with my music, I want to break that shit down. I’ve always listened to Devo, The Smiths, The Cure, Bad Brains, in addition to all of the hip hop influences or just as much as anyone else. Like, I saw on Perez Hilton’s blog that someone said black people don’t ride horses. So what? That means I’m not black because I ride a horse in my video? How closed-minded can you be? That’s why I want my music to be accessible coming from both a black person and women and get rid of those barriers.
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Comments
1.
incognegro says:
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damn. i know it's only a five minutes on vibe.com, but honestly couldn't yall have atleast edited this??
April 21, 2008 at 6:21 pm