The Essential Guide To Santigold's 99c

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    The Essential Guide To Santigold's 99c
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    After a four year break, Santigold has finally returned with her third and most colourful record to date. 99c is a bubbling, exuberant effort informed by the sounds of reggae, future R&B and pop all tied together by Santi’s trademark flair for innovation. There are huge pop bangers, weird and wonky R&B numbers and aggressive dance-ready cuts all sharing the same space.

     

    While it’s a happier effort to 2012’s dark Master Of My Make Believe she’s still tackling the hard topics head-on. The cover alone comments on the artist as a product but she also takes on narcissism and celebrity culture, blending it with her own personal notions.

     

    We’ve sunk our teeth into the release and pulled out all the must know information so you can play along at home while listening to the record, which coincidentally, dropped today.

     

    The Themes

    The Artist As A Commodity

    This is the overarching theme of the album from the title to the album cover where Santigold is displayed as some kind of plastic toy. Chasing Shadows sums up her thoughts best displaying the artist as something that is hot one day and not the next. You can be on top of your game and within months everyone forgets who you are like an old toy. “I give my heart away so that they remember me/I leave em alone in time they'll wanna smother what I say/Around another year I wonder did I go some place,” she sings, poignantly describing the thin line between giving too much and being perceived to have disappeared.

     

    Self-Confidence

    Santigold has always been loud. Everything from her music to her fashion is in-your-face and that’s perhaps one of her best features. She doesn’t do anything in the background and that’s probably why we’re still talking about her eight years after her debut album. On 99c she’s full of self confidence. “I can’t get enough of myself,” she proclaims on the album opener and then follows that up with a declaration that she’s a boss on Big Boss Big Time Business. It’s all got a tongue in cheek element to it but it’s still from the heart. She loves herself and so she should.

     

    Narcissism

    “It’s a very narcissistic time. It’s one thing that people don’t even watch the concerts any more, they just want to capture it on their phones,” Santigold told DIY and it’s something that is brought up a number of times on 99c. “All I wanna do is bottle what I sell,” she sings on Can’t Get Enough Of Myself, talking about the vain culture surrounding celebrity right now where everyone has to have a product, something to sell, even if it is just their looks. On closer Who I Thought You Were she turns her attention to a high-flying, suit-wearing man who seemingly now has his head up his own arse.



    The Features

    iLoveMakonnen

    For an album with so few features on it, it’s odd that iLoveMakonnen was the one rapper to turn up here. Well, it’s odd at first. Once you hear Makonnen and Santi together it all starts to make sense. Apparently they holed up in a studio together and played each other the weirdest stuff they had. The pair of them both challenge what a conventional vocal should sound like trading in the off-pitch and unpronounced often. It’s a match made in heaven on Who Be Lovin Me with each bringing an off-kilter swagger.

     

    B.C

    B.C is a rather enigmatic inclusion on the album. He/She/It features on Can’t Get Enough Of Myself and nobody seems to be able to explain what He/She/It. 99c for the person who can answer for us.

     

    The Videos

    Chasing Shadows

    The video for Chasing Shadows was directed by Elliot Lester and is about “dealing with the conflicted reality of an artist's life”. It delas with the anxiety of always having to set new goals and judging yourself for “not being further down the path.” Like most Santi videos, it features the singer looking ridiculously cool while doing mundane things like watching TV or standing in a bath.

     

    Who Be Lovin Me

    The Who Be Lovin Me vid was directed by Santigold herself alongside Trouble Andrew and was shot at Jay Z’s Made In America festival. It’s a simple vid featuring Santi cruising around in a buggy but it’s also a star-studded one with Big Sean, Earl Sweatshirt, Vic Mensa, De La Soul, Meek Mill and more popping into shot for brief moments.



    Can't Get Enough Of Myself
    Santigold recently dropped a fun interactive video for the album's first single, in which you can be the co-star and join Santi as she wanders around the city. Fire up Google chrome and be a part of the action here.


    Key Producers

    Rostam Batmanglij

    You might still be feeling a little icy towards Batmanglij for leaving Vampire Weekend but he’s doing good things with his new found freedom. He’s one of the most exciting pop producers in the game right now and his work on Santi’s Chasing Shadows is A+. Chasing Shadows is the biggest pop moment on the record with a thumping beat driven along by Santi’s speeding verses. He’s already contributed gold to Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX’s records and this is just further proof that he may be better off contributing pop gems to the world.

     

    Zeds Dead

    If you’ve taken a trip through Zeds Dead’s Soundcloud recently you may be a little confused by their contribution to 99c. Who Be Lovin Me is miles away from the trap or dance worlds that the Toronto pair often operate in and maybe that’s the reason why the track is so bizarre. It’s a slow, woozy beat that really doesn’t fluctuate much but it’s perfect for the off-kilter vocals that both Santi and Makonnen lay down. It’s weird but in the best way possible.

     

    Hit-Boy

    Hit-Boy worked with Batmanglij on Big Boss Big Time Business perhaps the only track on the album that effortlessly blends together pop, reggae, hip-hop and R&B. Hit-Boy’s touches are all over this one. It’s got the rawness of Kendirck Lamar’s Backstreet Freestyle, the R&B/hip-hop cross of Mariah Carey’s Thirsty and the chest-puff of Beyonce’s Bow Down. It’s a song that plays to Santi’s strenghts from her reggae-soaked vocal to her colourful, playful demeanour.

     

    Dave Sitek

    TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek is a longtime collaborator of Santigold’s and was pulled in again for this album. The goal was for the pair to make a happier record than 2012’s Master Of My Make-Believe which Sitek had a large hand in.

     

    Justin Raisen

    Justin Raisen is an American producer who has contributed to records by Charli XCX, Ariel Pink and Kylie Minogue. He’s the man behind the final track on 99c Who I Thought You Were and encouraged Santigold to write punk rock. If there’s a rock ‘n’ roll, singalong moment on the record it’s this one. It’s a standout track on the album because it sounds loud and proud just like all good punk rock tracks should be.

     

    Patrik Berger

    Patrik Berger was one of the main minds behind Charli XCX’s Sucker and has also worked with Robyn, Lana Del Rey and Icona Pop. He contributed on the lead single Can’t Get Enough Of Myself and Banshee for 99c and brings a certain vivacious energy to the record. Santigold did a stint in Jamaica while recording this record and these are the tracks where it shines through most prominently. They’re tropical, bright and borrow from the energy of her chaotic first record Santogold.

     

    The Key Tracks

    Chasing Shadows

    This truly feels like the centrepiece of the album. It’s a mid-tempo with plenty of room for Santigold to run around within it. She moves fast in the verses and slows it down for the chorus, injecting more of her own personality than on any other song on the album. It’s about the short shelf-life of artists these days but also features the line, “I’m breaking my rules, do it my way.” No matter how much she critiques the state of the industry she always comes back to the point that she’s just going to keep doing her.

     

    Can’t Get Enough Of Myself

    Only Santigold could successfully declare love for herself while depicting the ridiculousness of celebrity selfie culture right now. It’s breezy and fun with a triumphant chorus that proclaims, “I don’t know about you but I can’t get enough of myself.” She’s simultaneously commenting on this current celebrity culture where you’re essentially selling yourself for the currency of likes. Santi doesn’t need that. Her currency is her own self-esteem.

     

    All I Got

    On every Santigold album there’s an anthem with a slow-tempo but stomping beat that allows her to really assert her power. On Master Of My Make Believe it was Riot’s Gone where she sings, “I’m armed and dangerous,” and on her debut it was I’m A Lady where she proudly asserts, “I’m a lady, got my mind made up.” On this record, it’s All I Got - a powerful ballad that has Santigold in complete control. “Put all I got in your way,” she sings in the chorus conjuring images of her standing affront an army. Nobody would want to come across that.

     

    Who I Thought You Were
    Santigold started out in a punk rock called Stiffed and while her music often references the protesting energy of the genre this is one of the first times she’s really revisited it sonically. It’s the most raucous, messy song on the album and also one of the most immediately likeable. “All of your lies are thirsty and you are too,” she sings, tearing apart a man who thinks he’s a big wig now. She’s playful, strong and funny, making the person she’s referring too look small in under four minutes.

     

    Santigold's 99c is available now where all feel good future pop records can be located.

     

    - the interns' Sam Murphy for Cool Accidents

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After a four year break, Santigold has finally returned with her third and most colourful record to date. 99c is a bubbling, exuberant effort informed by the sounds of reggae, future R&B and pop all tied together by Santi’s trademark flair for innovation. There are huge pop bangers, weird and wonky R&B numbers and aggressive dance-ready cuts all sharing the same space.

 

While it’s a happier effort to 2012’s dark Master Of My Make Believe she’s still tackling the hard topics head-on. The cover alone comments on the artist as a product but she also takes on narcissism and celebrity culture, blending it with her own personal notions.

 

We’ve sunk our teeth into the release and pulled out all the must know information so you can play along at home while listening to the record, which coincidentally, dropped today.

 

The Themes

The Artist As A Commodity

This is the overarching theme of the album from the title to the album cover where Santigold is displayed as some kind of plastic toy. Chasing Shadows sums up her thoughts best displaying the artist as something that is hot one day and not the next. You can be on top of your game and within months everyone forgets who you are like an old toy. “I give my heart away so that they remember me/I leave em alone in time they'll wanna smother what I say/Around another year I wonder did I go some place,” she sings, poignantly describing the thin line between giving too much and being perceived to have disappeared.

 

Self-Confidence

Santigold has always been loud. Everything from her music to her fashion is in-your-face and that’s perhaps one of her best features. She doesn’t do anything in the background and that’s probably why we’re still talking about her eight years after her debut album. On 99c she’s full of self confidence. “I can’t get enough of myself,” she proclaims on the album opener and then follows that up with a declaration that she’s a boss on Big Boss Big Time Business. It’s all got a tongue in cheek element to it but it’s still from the heart. She loves herself and so she should.

 

Narcissism

“It’s a very narcissistic time. It’s one thing that people don’t even watch the concerts any more, they just want to capture it on their phones,” Santigold told DIY and it’s something that is brought up a number of times on 99c. “All I wanna do is bottle what I sell,” she sings on Can’t Get Enough Of Myself, talking about the vain culture surrounding celebrity right now where everyone has to have a product, something to sell, even if it is just their looks. On closer Who I Thought You Were she turns her attention to a high-flying, suit-wearing man who seemingly now has his head up his own arse.



The Features

iLoveMakonnen

For an album with so few features on it, it’s odd that iLoveMakonnen was the one rapper to turn up here. Well, it’s odd at first. Once you hear Makonnen and Santi together it all starts to make sense. Apparently they holed up in a studio together and played each other the weirdest stuff they had. The pair of them both challenge what a conventional vocal should sound like trading in the off-pitch and unpronounced often. It’s a match made in heaven on Who Be Lovin Me with each bringing an off-kilter swagger.

 

B.C

B.C is a rather enigmatic inclusion on the album. He/She/It features on Can’t Get Enough Of Myself and nobody seems to be able to explain what He/She/It. 99c for the person who can answer for us.

 

The Videos

Chasing Shadows

The video for Chasing Shadows was directed by Elliot Lester and is about “dealing with the conflicted reality of an artist's life”. It delas with the anxiety of always having to set new goals and judging yourself for “not being further down the path.” Like most Santi videos, it features the singer looking ridiculously cool while doing mundane things like watching TV or standing in a bath.

 

Who Be Lovin Me

The Who Be Lovin Me vid was directed by Santigold herself alongside Trouble Andrew and was shot at Jay Z’s Made In America festival. It’s a simple vid featuring Santi cruising around in a buggy but it’s also a star-studded one with Big Sean, Earl Sweatshirt, Vic Mensa, De La Soul, Meek Mill and more popping into shot for brief moments.



Can't Get Enough Of Myself
Santigold recently dropped a fun interactive video for the album's first single, in which you can be the co-star and join Santi as she wanders around the city. Fire up Google chrome and be a part of the action here.


Key Producers

Rostam Batmanglij

You might still be feeling a little icy towards Batmanglij for leaving Vampire Weekend but he’s doing good things with his new found freedom. He’s one of the most exciting pop producers in the game right now and his work on Santi’s Chasing Shadows is A+. Chasing Shadows is the biggest pop moment on the record with a thumping beat driven along by Santi’s speeding verses. He’s already contributed gold to Carly Rae Jepsen and Charli XCX’s records and this is just further proof that he may be better off contributing pop gems to the world.

 

Zeds Dead

If you’ve taken a trip through Zeds Dead’s Soundcloud recently you may be a little confused by their contribution to 99c. Who Be Lovin Me is miles away from the trap or dance worlds that the Toronto pair often operate in and maybe that’s the reason why the track is so bizarre. It’s a slow, woozy beat that really doesn’t fluctuate much but it’s perfect for the off-kilter vocals that both Santi and Makonnen lay down. It’s weird but in the best way possible.

 

Hit-Boy

Hit-Boy worked with Batmanglij on Big Boss Big Time Business perhaps the only track on the album that effortlessly blends together pop, reggae, hip-hop and R&B. Hit-Boy’s touches are all over this one. It’s got the rawness of Kendirck Lamar’s Backstreet Freestyle, the R&B/hip-hop cross of Mariah Carey’s Thirsty and the chest-puff of Beyonce’s Bow Down. It’s a song that plays to Santi’s strenghts from her reggae-soaked vocal to her colourful, playful demeanour.

 

Dave Sitek

TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek is a longtime collaborator of Santigold’s and was pulled in again for this album. The goal was for the pair to make a happier record than 2012’s Master Of My Make-Believe which Sitek had a large hand in.

 

Justin Raisen

Justin Raisen is an American producer who has contributed to records by Charli XCX, Ariel Pink and Kylie Minogue. He’s the man behind the final track on 99c Who I Thought You Were and encouraged Santigold to write punk rock. If there’s a rock ‘n’ roll, singalong moment on the record it’s this one. It’s a standout track on the album because it sounds loud and proud just like all good punk rock tracks should be.

 

Patrik Berger

Patrik Berger was one of the main minds behind Charli XCX’s Sucker and has also worked with Robyn, Lana Del Rey and Icona Pop. He contributed on the lead single Can’t Get Enough Of Myself and Banshee for 99c and brings a certain vivacious energy to the record. Santigold did a stint in Jamaica while recording this record and these are the tracks where it shines through most prominently. They’re tropical, bright and borrow from the energy of her chaotic first record Santogold.

 

The Key Tracks

Chasing Shadows

This truly feels like the centrepiece of the album. It’s a mid-tempo with plenty of room for Santigold to run around within it. She moves fast in the verses and slows it down for the chorus, injecting more of her own personality than on any other song on the album. It’s about the short shelf-life of artists these days but also features the line, “I’m breaking my rules, do it my way.” No matter how much she critiques the state of the industry she always comes back to the point that she’s just going to keep doing her.

 

Can’t Get Enough Of Myself

Only Santigold could successfully declare love for herself while depicting the ridiculousness of celebrity selfie culture right now. It’s breezy and fun with a triumphant chorus that proclaims, “I don’t know about you but I can’t get enough of myself.” She’s simultaneously commenting on this current celebrity culture where you’re essentially selling yourself for the currency of likes. Santi doesn’t need that. Her currency is her own self-esteem.

 

All I Got

On every Santigold album there’s an anthem with a slow-tempo but stomping beat that allows her to really assert her power. On Master Of My Make Believe it was Riot’s Gone where she sings, “I’m armed and dangerous,” and on her debut it was I’m A Lady where she proudly asserts, “I’m a lady, got my mind made up.” On this record, it’s All I Got - a powerful ballad that has Santigold in complete control. “Put all I got in your way,” she sings in the chorus conjuring images of her standing affront an army. Nobody would want to come across that.

 

Who I Thought You Were
Santigold started out in a punk rock called Stiffed and while her music often references the protesting energy of the genre this is one of the first times she’s really revisited it sonically. It’s the most raucous, messy song on the album and also one of the most immediately likeable. “All of your lies are thirsty and you are too,” she sings, tearing apart a man who thinks he’s a big wig now. She’s playful, strong and funny, making the person she’s referring too look small in under four minutes.

 

Santigold's 99c is available now where all feel good future pop records can be located.

 

- the interns' Sam Murphy for Cool Accidents

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