Santigold Celebrates New Album With Jay-Z and Beyoncé
On the eve of the release of her second album Master of My Make-Believe (out today, May 1), Santigold performed a show at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom that could only be described as flawless, according to Hive photographer Rebecca Smeyne. In front of a crowd that included Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Santi’s visuals came across like a mashup of Of Montreal and Jannelle Monae. Her costumes were weird but chic, the stage design was trippy but not over the top. All in all, her show was equal parts indie rock, soul and outsider pop. Like Jay-Z, Santigold performs with cool grace, charming the audience with weighted steps and shoulder shrugs, letting her mesmerizing backup dancers handle most of the heavy legwork. Before performing “Shove It,” which Jay-Z appropriated for his single “Brooklyn Go Hard” in 2008, Santi nodded “What up, Jay!” at the balcony. With four long years between her breakthrough debut album and today, there’s really no better way to bring things full circle than that.
