REVIEW: SANTIGOLD - SPIRITUALS

4/5

The Gold Standard.

Testify. The new 'Spirituals' are here. The unheralded album of the year from modern mainstream's most underrated artist. Santi White AKA Santigold first blew up on the scene in 2008 with her huge hit 'L.E.S. Artistes' for the underground off her self-titled debut, throwing up gold. All after the former Epic Records A&R spent most of the 2000s being Stiffed with a cool punk rock band. Big in the U.K. Santigold (then Santogold) then went hard with Brooklynite Jay-Z for the 'Notorious' B.I.G. movie soundtrack, amongst 'Unstoppable' collaborations with Lil'Wayne and Drake. So far gone, though, the Philadelphia indie soul singer has had more at stake than just some big name collaborations. She's her own legendary name. 

New wave electronic fusing reggae, hip-hop and alternative dance. No one has a sound like Santigold. Mixtapes, major contributions or Tyler the Creator's 'Igor' project and even something for the '99c' store, Santigold has it all. But on 'Spirituals' she takes it even higher. To a higher power. Her first album in six years is even more special for that and the fact that this is her first independently released album, you Little Jerk (that's the name of her record label, we're not insulting you, a##hole). 

The 'High Priestess' gets rolling with the most holy and lead single, singing "I got that manna for you, mama/I'll take your money fool, send it off to the Bahama/I'll roast you, dry bake you, fry 'til you're golden, come on/I'm takin' no drama, only answer to your honor/They talk about b#####s, they talk, that s### stop at me/Now bow down, don't freak out in the presence of a queen." With a crown of gold fire for your rings of power. Lord!

You 'Ain't Ready' for this. And Santi knows it. "I know those fools, boy, ain't ready/Still they spill their lies and blame/Call upon your saviour heavy/It'll ride you, dash your faith." "Hate me if you want to, I won't lose my head/Tell me what you want, I won't believe a thing/I hear you talking loud when it's unsaid (Imagine that)/All you ever told me, I could be nothing", she sings like it's 'Nothing'. Albeit with raw resolve. All before the latest single lets it 'Shake' as the genre looks blend like the picture-perfect portrait of the album artwork with eyes everywhere. 

African American folk at its finest is on display here, as the spirituals in testimonials lay the roots for a legendary album for someone who already has a lasting legacy in a generation where many don't make it past go. Traditional and groundbreaking all at once, Santigold used the lockdown to get over her loneliness and writer's block and give us some of her best work yet. Work she calls her "salvation" in a trying time, where only her art could colour her world. A nod to the spiritual songs slaves sang to keep their spirits up in the worst example of oppression. Joy over pain. Freedom through music. 

Transcending, from 'My Horror' in opening on ukulele, to the classic closing 'Fall First', as God as my 'Witness', this new album is full of instant vintage like Raphael Saadiq. But if you think that's enough NPR, get up from under your Tiny Desk and...(*clicks fingers*)...watch this. 'Ushers Of The New World' is that jam and will lead you there. But between 'The Lasty' and all of this, that will last longer than the moment your playlist switches up to a similar artist. Because there's no one like Santigold and on 'No Paradise', she puts it perfectly. "People suffering, they suffering/Down and we keep shuffling/Don’t know where but go-going/There’s power in our struggle." And it's beautiful. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'My Horror', 'Ushers Of The New World', 'No Paradise'.