Artists to Watch: Ten Artists and Bands Who Are Bringing the Future of Music, Today

WHO On her first day as the only black kid in a Philadelphia private school, Santi White hid in a corner at recess. "I didn't know what to do," she recalls. But before long, the charismatic daughter of a lawyer had conquered the school's social scene. "I was part of this clique, the Fearsome Fivesome," says White, who now mixes electronic beats with punk guitars and New Wave synths under the name Santogold. "We were mean to everyone. The school called my parents, and my mom said, 'I don't give a fuck! She's the only black girl — I'm glad she fits in.' "

SOUND After studying Cuban, Haitian and West African hand drumming at Wesleyan, White got a job in the A&R department of Epic Records in New York. (She now lives in Brooklyn.) But when an old friend, the alt-R&B singer Res, called for advice on finding a producer, White left her job to write and produce Res' ahead-of-its-time debut, How I Do, which combined rock, reggae and R&B.

White — who recently went solo after singing in the punk band Stiffed — will make her debut as Santogold next spring on an album that ranges from the dub-influenced "Shove It" to "L.E.S. Artistes," which sounds like a Cars/Strokes mash-up, to "Creator," which strongly resembles her friend M.I.A.'s latest album. "Nina Simone and HR from Bad Brains are my two biggest vocal influences," she says.

KEY TRACK "L.E.S. Artistes" The lyrics blast pretentious downtowners, but the taut guitars epitomize New York hipness.

THE BIG LEAGUES Björk invited her on tour; Mark Ronson recruited her to co-write a song for Lily Allen; Spank Rock regularly pulls her onstage; and M.I.A.'s producers Diplo and Switch volunteered to work on her wildly eclectic debut. "Santi has a wonderfully bizarre approach to melody and lyrics and has no care for conforming to mainstream guidelines," says Ronson. "I envy that."

Despite playing venues as large as Madison Square Garden when she opened for Björk, White is still getting comfortable onstage. "I'm not a ham," she says. But she doesn't want her audience to be limited to hipsters either. "I want a lot of people to hear my music," she says. "Who doesn't like a pop song?" BRIAN HIATT

Photograph by Theo Wenner

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