Santigold

Formerly an A&R rep, Santigold then moved from behind the scenes and into the spotlight as a genre-hopping singer-songwriter and prolific collaborator inspired by everyone from Fela Kuti to Aretha Franklin. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Santi White double majored in African-American studies and Music at Wesleyan University before landing an A&R position at Epic Records. After gaining her first writing credit on GZA's Beneath the Surface in 1999, White co-penned and co-produced several tracks on Res' 2001 LP, How I Do, released two albums (2003's Sex Sells, 2005's Burned Again) as the frontwoman of punk rockers Stiffed, and made her debut recording under her original Santogold nickname on Mark Ronson's star-studded Version. Diplo, M.I.A. and Steel Pulse were just some of the eclectic names who served as producers on her 2008 self-titled debut, an intriguing blend of reggae, indie-rock, electronica, dub and new wave which appeared on many end-of-year lists and produced a UK Top 40 single in the shape of "L.E.S. Artistes." After high-profile support slots with Coldplay, Beastie Boys and Kanye West, White was forced to change her to stage name to Santigold in 2009 when wrestler/director Santo Gold threatened legal action, but audiences soon got used to her new moniker thanks to numerous guest appearances on tracks by the likes of Drake, Major Lazer and Beastie Boys, and a one-off collaboration with Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O. Reaching No.21 on the Billboard 200, 2012 sophomore release Master of My Make-Believe continued to showcase her adventurous streak, with lead single "Disparate Youth" also showing up in major TV ads on both sides of the Atlantic. Spots on the soundtracks of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013) and "Paper Towns" (2015) then served as a stopgap before 99¢, a semi-concept album about society's obsession with consumerism, arrived in 2016.