Santogold [ft. Amanda Blank] – "I'm a Lady (Diplo Mix)"

So I'm probably the last trend monger on the planet to post about Top Ranking, the new mixtape collabo between Wes "Gully" Pentz and Santi "Don't Call Me a Rapper" White. Furthermore, I'm the last to make a proper post about Santi, period.

My experience with Santogold's music is perhaps not that much different from yours. I was intrigued by her at first. I dug a few of the singles impact tracks. I found her hawt. But ultimately, I was unimpressed by her album as a whole. Also, I confirmed, "Wow, she really DOES sound like a more marketable version of M.I.A., which is probably why Warner snatched her up and why she's all over your TV."

Judging from the interviews I've seen/read, the M.I.A. comparison is not something she's totally thrilled about, and it's a cross I'm sure she'll continue to bear. I personally wouldn't go as far as to tag Santi as "M.I.A. Lite." But to her critics' credit, she dresses like Maya, works with Maya's producers, tends to have a similar vocal delivery to Maya, runs with Maya's crowd and, for all practical purposes, is friends with Maya. In fact, I first came to know about Santogold about a year ago because she was one of Maya's top friends on MySpace. Eventually, she became a buzzword, and within a few months' time, she's become a sensation.

Maya introduced this new aesthetic to the world, but Santi is the one making it easier to digest, and she'll probably end up moving more units in the long run. But I'm okay with that. I think she's fit to carry the M.I.A. torch. (There are other contenders I'd be much less enthusiastic about carrying said torch.)

Not surprisingly, there's been a lot of talk about Top Ranking being Piracy Funds Terrorism 2.0. And that assumption turns out to be somewhat accurate. Top Ranking is 35 tracks strong, 12 of which are Santi tracks. Plenty of exclusive remixes, mash-ups and even a few original tracks to go around. If you weren't feeling Santi's album, Top Ranking may just fill the void the album didn't.

This is a remix of an album track—Amanda Blank steps up for a didn't-see-it-coming ballad rap verse. We ♥.

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Buy Top Ranking from Turntable Lab.

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