Santogold has claimed that anyone labelling her music as hip-hop, rap or R&B is “totally racist”.
Speaking to DrownedinSound sister site The Lipster, the artist – real name Santi White – confessed she was frustrated by the unnecessary pigeon-holing of what is pretty much a straight-up pop record (review) by online music retailers and hacks.
"It's racist,” she asserted. “It's totally racist.“Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off. I didn't grow up as a big fan of R&B and, like, what is the big shocker? It's stupid.”
While the record does touch on what could be reasonably described as hip-hop – ‘Creator’, surely? – we can see what’s she’s getting at. As Lipster scribe Rebecca Nicholson ably points out, here: “Gwen Stefani is more hip-hop/rap than Santogold, but she is called [by the online music retailers like iTunes, Tesco and Play.com] pop/rock - and it's because she's white”.
White picks the thread back up.
“In the beginning I thought that was funny. I'm an 'MC', I'm a 'soul singer', I'm a 'dance hybrid artist'. And some guy said I looked like Kelly Rowland!"
DiScuss:
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I really dislike Santogold
this recent outburst furthers my claim that she is overhyped rubbish being adopted by the NMEs of this world cause it's like sooo cool alternative and eclectic.
YEH! I laughed a lil when Great Escape texted she cancled DiS stage in a venue with NO signal.
great album
but she's talking bollocks. no-one really gives a shit about genres. pigeon holes are for pigeons, innit.
totally
they're just whinging that they didn't catch M.I.A the first time round so when she came around they were rubbish their sweaty palms together
Everything is racist these days
yeah
When I first ehard Santogold I thought it was Nelly Furtado.
I thought everything was average nowadays?
I thought everone was clever nowadays?
Isn't everyone racist nowadays?
I thought everyone was happy nowadays?
I thought everyone was happy Mondays?
is that a smiths' reference?
if so nice one!
she's clearly racist herself though, shunning those whites in favour of gold!
^defo
post of my life
:D
I would have called it judgemental and stereotypical
rather than racist...It doesn't make it right by any means and i can totally understand how, but the word 'racism' is thrown around so easily these days.
If on the otherhand they had said "get the hell out of here! we aren't interviewing you because you are black!!!" Now THAT would be racist!
P.S.
i haven't heard Santogold yet so i don't even know what she sounds like! x
Well, defiitely NOT like R&B!
Yeah
More like hip-hop
I was thinking Urban
most offensive categorization goes to...
..especially to white alt-country fans
who happen to live in built up areas.
chocolate
Nelly Furtado
Entirely Nelly Furtado.
I totally agree with her...
just cuz she's black, it's like she's somehow not allowed to jump over the R'n'B fence in pastures new (please excuse the terrible analogy, I'm incredibly dull).
I'm with her on this one.
Okay, you're a shit and a waste of sound
me=pretty racist now?
Well
Gwen Stefani used to be fully into ska/rock with No Doubt - and her music is now pop so...surely she's in the right section. What I've heard of Santawhatsherface is shite. So it probably is shithop or whatever it's called on't streets.
I do hate when they put any black artist in the "urban" section
it's quite ridiculous when they do it to clearly middle class black artists in there as well
but to be honest, that advert pissed me off so much I dont give a fuck what Santogold thinks
i know what you mean
but the sections in most music shops are so stupid anyway. anything with a guitar goes into rock/pop, when in reality it could be a million miles away from the stuff its next to. its not particularly racist, just stereotyping and shit defintion of what makes something part of a genre.
It's all done on computers? Not a single guitar??
Must be "dance" then.
I've often wondered how many clubbers have been left staring at their stereos in bemusement after taking a punt on Autechre simply because it was between Basement Jaxx and Apollo 440...
i bet this is such a tiny minority of people in the world
well not tiny, more infinitesmal
SANTOGOLD!
SANTA'S OLD!
SANTANA'S MOULDY!
oh great
now whenever i get a genre wrong in the future i'll probably get called racist. boo
That's what a racist would say
QED
It's R&B though, really, isn't it, come on.
I'm against tags and pigeon-holing, but it's no different to Rihanna, or Nelly Furtado, or Gwen Stefani, or any other R&B/Pop tat. It's no more racist than people describing white boys in bands as Indie.
nah
it's not just like Rihanna. she has a point. she's obviously gone a bit sensational with the OTT racism game, but it is lazy and stereotypical.
and it's not tat either, bloody eck
"totally racist" = totally free promotion
By bringing this thorny issue up - whether she personally believes it or not - is sure to generate shed loads of free promotion. Exactly what you would expect of some A&R type turned musician.
I wouldn't say it's R&B,
I'd just say it's shit.
kthnxbye
YOU GO GIRL!
*snaps fingers*
I like the record a lot,
and I understand what's she saying but she's being a bit OTT. The album mixes a few genres- hip hop, r'n'b, new wave and electro- so it is unfair to limit it to just r'n'b when for me it errs more on the new wavey side.
Aye,
I think she has a point, but most record shops don't exactly have a 'New Wave' section. I think she's overreacting hugely, but as someone said above, it's a very savvy PR move.
hang about
someone saying she looks like kelly rowland isn't the same as saying 'you must be r&b because you look like someone who is'. Is she trying to a suggest a 'they all look the same' sentiment was intended? Because she's probably wrong.
Hmmm well...
I can totally understand her point and see wheres she's coming from but good music is just good music at the end of the day, personally I wouldnt care if I was pigeonholed. However Santogold is Not good music.
she looks more like June Sarpong to me
Vitamins
http://tinyurl.com/48j26h
i dig the album
and would never have once classed it as R 'n' B - anyone who does is fucking lazy and subscribing to a load of racial stereotypes but that does not necessarily make them racist at all. there is a huge difference. I can imagine she said what she said out of sheer frustration.
someone at work last night
described nat king cole's voice as "chocolatey"
just sayin'
wait shes white?
must have got lost in ME NOT CARING WHAT COLOUR YOU ARE SWEET HEART
honestly, grow some balls and fuck off will you.