As premiered via Complex, ‘Freaky’, the latest single from Santi re-imagines veteran Nigerian Hip-Hop artist Ikechukwu’s classic 2008 single ‘Shobeedo’, and spews it out as a mélange of post-groove sound design courtesy of producer Genio, who is just one of Santi’s tight-knit Monster Boys crew.
Along with other members Bankyondabeatz and GMK, they have all been making music together since they were all teens.
The dense production on ‘Freaky’ weaves between Santi’s hypnotic dancehall-inflected flow, rapper Bridge’s distinct drone and R&B crooner Nonso Amadi’s smooth lament over the song’s femme fatale. Serving as the long awaited follow-up to his 2017, ‘Freaky’ is the first single from Santi’s highly anticipated forthcoming EP, which will be released in the autumn.
Regarded as one of the leaders of the nu-gen of urban music artists coming out of Africa in recent years, Santi started out as the rapper’s rapper Ozzy B, before transitioning into the freewheeling multi-genre artist Santi a few years ago. On the back of seminal work including his 2016 mixtape Suzie’s Funeral, and recent singles such as ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Icy’, Santi has been championed by OVO Radio, Apple Music, WIRED Japan, MTV Base and Okayafrica, among others.
The fast-rising emcee, vocalist and film director is inventing a unique fusion of disparate influences; anything from the quirks of cable network cartoon shows, to the aesthetic classic Nollywood flicks distributed on VHS tapes, to the poise of gothic rock bands that made searing ballads in the early naughts, is fair game. While navigating new frontiers musically, Santi is also nurturing a filmmaking career, having co-directed the recent videos for ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Gangster Fear’.
