It’s becoming very common to hear the phrase “Oh you don’t know so-and-so? She’s the new M.I.A.” which I suppose means (1) she’s rapping over electronic music, (2) there’s global influences in the sound and (3) there’s lots of silver spandex, bright t-shirts and quirky poses.
I’ve heard this phrase several times, but I can only now recall two of these recommendations for (a) the critically-acclaimed, ska-rooted Santogold and (b) the self-made-on-Myspace French kitten Yelle. Personally, I’m kind of appalled at how similar Santogold sounds to MIA, and as for Yelle, I don’t find myself liking any other songs besides her hit single. I prefer trusty M.I.A. to both new queens of electropop, but please judge for yourself:
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My love for M.I.A. is beyond strong, that goes without saying. But in the Santogold vs. Yelle argument, Santogold wins, hands down! Yelle’s music is just for fun, but Santogold seems to be on a mission, not in a propagand-y way, but in the sense that she’s putting her soul into her music. “I’m A Lady” or “Comme Des Garcons?” No question.
I had so much fun listening to these songs today. Far from my usual mellow tastes.. Thanks for the great post Nuget.
Miss you.
Bootsy
I just don’t get the “hot” factor with Santagold at all.
Musically, I find all three annoying. Sorry.
Ah! I love Jackie’s graphic. I mean, Nugget’s graphic.
Must agree with Brittany. M.I.A. is legit in all aspects of her life and doesn’t just play a persona see link below. Santagold has some hits but feel that she’s a carbon copy bootleg of M.I.A. and Yelle will continue to be a Myspace burn-out.
I’ve been a big fan of M.I.A since way back in the day, before her album came out stateside. Therefore, I just can’t get into Santogold. As I’ve described her before, she’s a poor man’s M.I.A. Though I do enjoy some of the remixes I’ve heard of her stuff, like the mash up with Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E”
As for Yelle, another one of my favorites, I would not compare the two. Yelle is French pop with an edge, where as M.I.A is definitely not Pop, though she has lots of edge. They both rap/sing about different subjects.
I wouldn’t draw a comparison between M.I.A and Yelle, but I definitely say Yelle wins hands down in a comparison to Santogold.
Santogold does not ‘sound like’ MIA… much of her latest album is produced by Switch and Diplo : producers within MIA’s albums….so in conclusion Santogold’s beats sound like MIA’s beats.
To call Santogold a ‘poor man’s MIA’ is an insult to both artists. You may also note that Santogold has a far deeper musical background than MIA…but this does not make her richer or poorer..just a different artist.
As for a ranking…they both rock…just play them.
Santogold has unoriginal production and her songs are boring. When she first hit the internet the blogs were up in arms calling her “the next MIA.” She sounds like old no doubt music but appeals to people with a more elitist attitude. In this battle MIA holds it down.
You have forget uffie !!!!
Creator KiLLS Em ALL
HAIL SWITCH!!