“Rap? You think my record is a rap record?” she gently admonishes a now embarrassed interviewer. “I don’t think of my music as rap at all. It’s a mash-up of all these influences I have. Dub, electronic, punk, indie rock, and maybe a little hip-hop.”
     On account of her culture-clashing ways, Santogold has drawn heavy comparisons to Karen O, Gwen Stefani, and, of course, Maya Arulpragasam (aka M.I.A.). Regarding the references to M.I.A., White remarks: “People say that because my record is produced by the same producer (Switch). We’re both part of the same crew. We’re friends. And we wear bright colors and are both women of color. Until I am known for what I do, I think, as a new artist, you are always gonna be compared to people. I don’t think we’re that similar at all. But Maya is awesome, so I’m fine with that.”
     Indeed, a certain sense of pragmatism marks her answers. This shrewdness perhaps stems from White’s first break into the music industry: the A&R offices of Epic Records. At Epic, White signed R&B singer Res to a demo deal before producing and writing most of Res’ debut How I Do. White parlayed the Res gig into a full-fledged songwriting career, while moonlighting as singer for Philly post-punk troupe Stiffed. Most recently, she composed tracks by mainstream luminaries Lily Allen and Ashlee Simpson.
     White’s pop-songwriting credentials and provocative performances with Stiffed led to a solo deal, but she insists that her work with the band is still a big part of her. Besides Switch, most production on her album was undertaken by Stiffed cohort John Hill. Call it dialectics or synthesis, but it seems that every new Santi White project builds off the old. “Stiffed is where I learned how to use my voice as an instrument,” she says. “I like really grimy-sounding stuff. Minimal and raw. I like electronic sounds but only if they sound analog, like late ‘70s, early ‘80s, like Devo, Gary Numan style. These are all things I identified with in Stiffed.”
     Thus, it’s not surprising that White plans to continue her prior career as songwriter along with her blossoming solo project, because, she says, the transition between professional collaboration and individual creativity makes her a better artist. “Writing for someone else is more like work. It’s supporting someone else’s artistry. Writing for myself is more like art, and it’s fun. When you write for someone else, it’s like going to the gym. You’re honing your skills, keeping your muscles tight. And then when you write for yourself, it’s the race,” she surmises. “There’s some value in being objective. You take it back to your own work, when you can be as creative or eccentric as you want. It is really valuable to step [back] and look at it like you were when working with other people. Do I have a strong chorus? That’s the difference between writing an accessible song and writing some underground art. I wanna be able to have a bit of both in my music.”
     There’s that idea again. No matter what time of day it is, Santi White will bridge the gap.