Santogold

Santi White, aka Santogold, remembers she was so nervous being the only Black kid in her class that on her first day at school she hid in a corner. She's not hiding anymore.

The 32-year-old Philadelphia native is being hailed as the artist to watch in 2008 by hipsters and mainstream critics, alike. Combining Jamaican reggae with British New Wave and American rock, Santogold is making room on the dance floor for ladies who are sexy – because they're smart. As she puts it: "it's not about being naked."

A graduate of Wesleyan University and a record producer, songwriter (Ashlee Simpson, Lily Allen) and former label talent scout, White first got in front of the mic as the lead singer of the Philadelphia punk band The Stiffed. You can hear traces of that group's Straight Jackers on Santogold's upbeat mix-up Say Aha – and for good reason: her former bandmate John Hill is her current studio collaborator.

Where the white British singer Amy Winehouse borrows her vocal accents from the American (Black) South, Santogold often borrows from the British to make her sometimes hip hop, always pop vocals cut through the mix. Laid over thinner tracks, White's voice and diction might come across as grating, but the music on Santogold is as rich and deep as a 12-inch thick chocolate bar.

On the patient L.E.S. Artistes, the album's opening track, White's hot, strutting lyrics play over a cool bed of synthesizers. The previously mentioned "Say Aha" crams together the upbeat of reggae, an achingly sweet vocal bridge (think Bollywood meets Blondie) and the raucous energy of post-punk. Fans of the British troublemaker M.I.A. might cry "biter" when they hear Santogold's Creator, but the track was put together by FreQ Nasty and Switch, one of M.I.A.'s chief producers. (The song is catchy enough to sell Bud Light Lime on television.)

The now Brooklyn-based Santogold, who last year opened for Bjork at some of America's biggest arenas, is currently on tour in Europe. She'll probably take over the U.S. sometime this Fall.

Recommended for anyone who was ever disappointed with Gwen Stefani and/or is bored with Beyonce.