She'll Find A Way

With great opportunity comes great expectation. And considering Santogold's former day job as an A&R rep for Epic, her collaborations with GZA and Lily Allen, and her connections to M.I.A., this Brooklyn-based songstress has a lot of people expecting big things. Does she pull this one off? Well, her first single "L.E.S. Artistes" may very well be the catchiest single you'll rarely hear. Because quite frankly, I don't know to classify it. Her penchant for freely experimenting with dub, new wave, punk, hip-hop, ska, and grime (sometimes all at once) is admirable, but this unfortunately may spread this NYC socialite too thin on her self-titled debut. And despite already having a slew of supporters south of Houston Street, Santogold bites the very hand that feeds on "Artistes" -- serving up a can of whoopass to the Lower East Side too-cool-for-school hipster class.

This is not to undermine Santogold's musical might, as this singer succeeds time and again on most of the tracks on her debut. With a voice that is one part Gwen and two parts M.I.A., she certainly has the pipes that allow her to span multiples genres. On the aptly titled "Shove It" Santogold puts on her reggae hat, yet spews out a chorus that is defiantly punk: "We think you're a joke/Shove your hope where it don't shine." Hold on to your seats, because this ride takes sharp turn that is markedly indie rock on "Lights Out," a tune that more Pixies-sounding than anything. But this is just the beginning for Ms. White, as straight-up hop makes its cameo on "Starstruck", while the beautiful "I'm A Lady" contains the infectious pop that might cross this starlet over into the mainstream. And while having friends in high places can certainly take her there, she proves that she's worthy of the mic on her genre-spanning debut.

My Rating: 7.5/10