Santi White, better known by her stage name Santogold, is an American songwriter, producer, and singer. Santi White attended Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then went to college at Wesleyan University, where she double-majored in Music and African-American studies. The artist got her pseudonym in the 1980s from a friend's nickname for her. She worked for Epic Records as an A&R representative, but left the position to write and produce How I Do, the debut album from the singer Res.

Santogold was singer of the Philadelphia-based punk rock band Stiffed, whose 2003 album, Sex Sells, and 2005 album, Burned Again, were produced by Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer. While in this group, she was offered a solo contract by Martin Heath of Lizard King Records. Her initial singles "Creator" and "L.E.S. Artistes" received attention from Internet media in 2007.

Brooklyn future pop sensation, Santogold has emerged as the 2008 musical season's new light. Working with fellow Stiffed member John Hill as co-producer, she recorded her debut album, Santogold, which was originally slated for release on Downtown Records in January 2008, but was pushed back to April 2008. The album (including its B-sides and remixes) features appearances or production work from Chuck Treece, Cliffored "Moonie" Pusey of Steel Pulse, Diplo, Freq Nasty, Naeem Juwan of Spank Rock, Radioclit, Sinden, Switch, Trouble Andrew, and XXXchange. The album's first singles, "Creator" and "L.E.S. Artistes", were both well received. Rolling Stone, Spin, and BBC all named Santogold an artist to watch in 2008. "Creator", along with "Lights Out", has appeared in commercials for Bud Light Lime in the United States, and VO5 hair products in the United Kingdom. Similarly, "You'll Find A Way" was featured in the EA Sports video game, FIFA 08, with "L.E.S. Artistes" featured in some versions of its sister game NHL 08 as well as in commercials for the Ford Flex. Her song "Say Aha" was featured in a Zune-Arts video.