Interview

I get a call from Interview 10 minutes after the appointed time-they still haven't heard from Santi. They'll get me back on the line once they've tracked her down. Already a diva, I think to myself. It shouldn't, but her lateness makes me love her even more.
I look at the questions on my tricked-out Mac screen and play the YouTube clip of Santi singing "I believe," the catchphrase from the Santogold anthem "L.E.S. Artistes." She sports a black-girl blow-out and laughs as her friend Rose, a "crazy cool" white girl, engages the crowd with an ironic irreverence I haven't seen since Madonna's Blond Ambition tour.
Santi is the front woman for Santogold, whose self-titled album was released in April. The group's sound is outrageously infectious. It mixes dub, electronica, punk, and, to my ears, funk and hip-hop, into a nostalgic, futuristic piece of ear candy. Because the music is so out of the box, I'm expecting a renegade artist, someone who doesn't give a shit about what some music executive thinks.
When Santi is patched in, her voice is more Valley girl than home girl, and I get it immediately. Santi is an innovative rebel and a polished industry professional. Her vibe is edgy, but slick and seductive, too. Just like her music, Santi White is smart as hell.

Rebecca Walker: How does it feel to be on the cusp of superstardom?

Santi White: I hope the record does really well, but I don't feel like I'm on the cusp of superstardom. I feel like I'm on the cusp of my record coming out.

RW: Do you have a coda or a manifesto or a thesis for Santogold?

SW: I knew this was gonna be one of those interviews where I had to think. [laughs] I don't have a manifesto or a thesis or anything like that. I have a lot of industry experience, and I have a lot of life experience. I've been through a lot of stuff in the last couple of years, and I feel like I had a lot that I wanted to say on this record. I didn't want to compromise, and I wanted to do a lot of genre-hopping. I've learned, from mistakes I've made in the past, about how to align myself with the right people.

RW: I think all artists have to negotiate patronage and, at the same time, create a seductive product.

SW: I really like a pop format-melodies you can sing along to and stuff like that-but I don't think that necessarily has to mean that you write some really watered-down, dumb stuff. Unfortunately, most of the commercial pop out now is like that.

RW: Can you briefly describe Santogold?

SW: It's just me, and I collaborate with different people on the record. I wrote most of this record with my friend John Hill. He's a writer and a producer, and he used to be the bass player in my other band, Stiffed. I did some songs with Switch, who is a producer from the U.K. Then I worked a little bit with Diplo and had some collaborations with other friends of mine.