ABOVE & BEYOND
by Smasharelli on 5/21/19The Masonic - San FranciscoSantigold delivered above and beyond my expectations. Loved every minute of itđ
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Santigold is a genre-defying musician, style renegade, and visionary artist across multiple platforms celebrated for her fearless ability to fuse unexpected elements into bold new work. An artist whose perseverance relies on invention, her singular aesthetic has made her a major muse watched by the inspired world.
In the four years since Santigold's incendiary I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions mixtape which was acclaimed for its adventurous experimentation with Afro-Caribbean rhythms, she provided backing vocals for several songs on Tyler, the Creator's, Igor, as well as collaborating on his Grinch-Inspired Christmas song, "Lights On". She has also released tracks with DJ Mehdi and Busy P, and the groundbreaking and foundational reggae pioneer, U-Roy, on a cover of the classic "Man Next Door" from what became his final album.
Santigold's albums are entire worlds meticulously built, brick by brick, by a master architect who incisively speaks to the present while shaping the future. Her fourth album Spirituals captures the feeling of surviving in the modern world while elevating yourself to new places. "This record is about the multidimensionality of being--transformation, transcendence, and evolution," she says. "In struggle, we see parts of ourselves that we don't necessarily see in other times. For those of us who were willing to take a look, there was a lot of opportunity in the past couple of years to really evolve, and this record was about me showing up to do that."
Spirituals is Santigold's first full-length album since 2016's 99¢, and was mostly recorded during the 2020 lockdown. "All of a sudden there I was with three small children out of school--just-turned-two-year-old twins and a six-year-old--I was cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and changing diapers from morning to night, with three little kids coming in and out of my bed throughout each night like musical chairs. I was losing touch with the artist me, stuck in a part of myself that was too small. I felt the other parts of me were shrinking, disappearing."
Santigold struggled but succeeded in defining a space in which she could center herself and collaborate virtually with producers and contributors: Rostam, Boys Noize, Dre Skull, P2J, Nick Zinner, SBTRKT, JakeOne, Illangelo, Doc McKinney, Psymun, Ricky Blaze, Lido, Ray Brady, and Ryan Olson. "Recording this album was a way back to myself after being stuck in survival mode. It wasn't until I made the space to create that I realized I wasn't only creating music but a lifeline," she says. California was on fire, we were hiding from a plague, the social justice protests were unfolding. "I'd never written lyrics faster in my life. After having total writer's block, they started pouring out." "I decided to create the future, to look towards where we are going, to create beauty and pull towards that beauty. I need that for myself, but it's also there for whoever else needs it."
"I loved the idea of calling it Spirituals because it touched on the idea of Negro spirituals, which were songs that served the purpose of getting Black people through the un-get-throughable," she continues. "In the absence of physical freedom, spirituals have traditionally been music whose sound and physical performance allow its participants to feel transcendental freedom in the moment. That's what this record did for me."
Renowned for her iconography, Santigold has collaborated with visual artists including Kehinde Wiley, Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, and Sanford Biggers. She has also done various brand collaborations for shoe, accessory, and cosmetics lines, as well as had comedic roles on The Office, and Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV.
Since her last full-length release, Santigold has also engaged new ways to express and release her ideas, allowing her greater range to be even truer to her creative intentions on her own terms. She created Spirituals as a multisensory experience that includes not only the music and video vignettes, but new ways of sharing her visual art, a forthcoming natural skincare line, and a tea; the products bearing the same brand name, Spirituals. She will also be releasing a new podcast in which she interviews other artists and visionaries around some of the same themes explored in her music. Santigold has other literary, film and product lines in the works as well."I want to continue branching out into all forms of art," she says. "And I'm really excited to let my music take me to new places."
While taking yourself to new places is core to her outlook at this point in her impressive career, she has always been an artist who has charted new paths in the world of pop music and beyond, breaking down barriers of genre along the way, further cementing her as an essential artist when surveying the last two decades of popular culture at large.
Santigold delivered above and beyond my expectations. Loved every minute of itđ
What a great experience! I actually went to this show alone because I had missed her twice before due to being out of town so I made it a point to go and I could not have made a wiser decision. She put on an excellent show and I had a blast! The crowd of people was super friendly so that is always a plus. She called everyone up to dance for one of her songs, and it was amazing! She asked us not to bring our phones out and only dance so I respected that, which is why I don't remember what song was playing. I just know I had a fantastic time.
Santigold never fails to deliver an awesome live experience. Iâve followed her from the start and she just gets better. Truly unique performer!
Amazing show - she sounded great! Love the stage production and the dancers are so cool!!!
Venue was great, although the weapons screening took so long that at the end, they just let people, including me, in without any screening whatsoever. I donât feel safe in a concert without metal detection of every patron
Santigold did not list an opening act. Unfortunately, she is one. He was bad! And she didnât take the stage until 9:45pm. That stinks. Sound system was too small for the space.
If youâre thinking about seeing Santigold...DO IT. & go buy all of her albums too.
One of the best shows of my life! Santi rocked every song of hers that I love. It was beautiful and inspiring.
Great show and sound. Brought a lot of energy and did all the songs everyone loves.
It was fun, performers were good and the effort was there. Song selection was decent, Enjoyable from that aspect - so, although there is more written below on the negative end, the show was good and I would recommend it (but don't get there early). On the negative - WAY, WAY too loud (and we were in the balcony). No reason for it. The FOH guy needs to evaluate better. All 3 acts were so loud, it distorted the sound and made it difficult to hear what was going on. Also, it would be nice to have less recorded stuff and more live performing (but that is a long, growing trend that is getting worse, at all concerts). But I knew what I was getting, going in. More musicians on stage would really take the performance/show to a new level. Last - the openers did not fit the genre at all. Santigold is not an aggressive, angry rapper, yet both openers were. Her roots are more alternative, and now trending towards pop. And the very first artist (Donmonique) - that was a total train wreck.
I loved the props, costume change , and dances, especially when Santigold brought people on stage for "Creator" as a party scene, and we got to see Santigold play the bass guitar.
AMAZING!!!!!!!! She killed it, the venue was great
Def worth seeing! She needed a little more crowd interaction but other than that...good stuff!
Considering the cost of tickets, including fees ($45+) + the length of the line (+30 min), it is a shame the amazing Santigold only played for an hour and a half!
This was an awesome, high-impact show full of cool set and costume changes, dance moves, and audience participation.
I love Santigold, and this is the second show of hers that I've been to. Her backup dancers are amazing and so fun to watch, and the whole show carries great energy. I also love her social message and her commentary on consumerism. The negative feedback I have is for her second opening act, which was beyond TERRIBLE. The woman was dressed in camo wearing a ski mask and looked like a terrorist. Her sound was so loud, jarring, and cacophonous that I wanted to put her on mute, especially because she only screamed profanity and not much else. It was by far the worst opening act I've ever seen, and I wish I had left the concert and come back when Santigold came on.
Had a great time seeing Santigold at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Got there early and snagged a great seat in the balcony. Was able to see the stage even when people were standing! I liked that her opening acts were both female MC's, who we both entertaining. All in all great show! I want a selfie sweatsuit lol!
I had only heard the new album once and wasn't sure what I thought of it, so I wasn't sure that I would fully enjoy the show. BUT I totally enjoyed it. The music was good. We enjoyed the costume changes and the energy. The dancers were somewhat comical but entertaining. We left energized and happy that we went!
Great energy and great music. Lots of fun. Made for a great evening out. Can't wait to see her again.
Not having any idea what to expect, I was impressed with the show. From the set design, dancers, and great music. I became a fan, and look forward to seeing her again sometime.