Mary J. Blige
Photo: MTV News

Janet Jackson has inspired a slew of singers in her career with her dance moves, seductive songs and turns at acting on the big screen.

Now, in the wake of her brother Michael's passing, it's Janet's personal strength that is touching her peers.

She's scheduled to open the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards by paying tribute to Michael Jackson, her first performance since the late King of Pop died in June.

"Private stuff like that, the things you go through when you lose someone close to you, it's just so hard for you to process it for yourself and to do it publicly," Santigold told MTV News when asked about Janet. "Even people who talk at funerals, I respect that so much. Because it's such an internal struggle that you deal with: to be able to get up and share with others your emotions."

The musician said Janet's performance is important because of the magnitude of her brother's stardom. Fans across the world are still dealing with the unexpected death of MJ. But Janet leading the way will continue the healing process for many, she said.

"For Michael Jackson it's very special, because I think everybody needs that," she explained. "Because everyone wants to share that loss together and experience it. And I think that's really amazing that [Janet] is able to do that."

Mary J. Blige was initially announced as a headliner in the tribute to the Gloved One that Jermaine Jackson was organizing in Vienna. But she had to back out because of another commitment before the tribute was postponed until next year. Blige said she was honored to be asked and, like everyone else, she's rooting for Janet on Sunday night.

"I'm hoping Janet shuts the whole place down," she said.

A trailer from the forthcoming "This Is It" film, culled from recordings of Michael's final concert rehearsals earlier this year, will premiere during the VMAs on Sunday night.

Watch the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Preshow this Sunday, September 13, at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the big event, live at 9 p.m. Check out our interactive map of New York to see how the city is celebrating the VMAs all week long, and stay tuned for party coverage, concert reports, behind-the-scenes updates and more.

• Janet Jackson
• Santigold
• Mary J. Blige

Christina Aguilera
Photo: Denise Truscello/ WireImage

Christina Aguilera is doing anything but getting back to basics on her new music. The singer called in to her station on A.P.E. Radio earlier this week and dished a bit about her forthcoming album, noting that she hit the studio with a wide range of artists to experiment on her sound.

"I know I can't let too much out the bag too soon," she said. "I just can't, 'cause I really want you guys to be surprised and to experience firsthand what I'm talking about or what I'm not talking too much about. Too soon in the game, but wrapping everything up now."

Aguilera noted that she's "in the final stages of the record, and I'm just so thrilled." She stepped out of her comfort zone to make a unique album, working with M.I.A., Santigold and Lady Tron, who she says she "respects and admires."

"I think I'm most proud of this work than I've ever been, just because I worked with so many amazing and incredibly talented people," she said. "[Sia and I] did a lot of work on this record together, and she's just a complete gem. She's truly just such a talented force to be reckoned with. And I so enjoyed her company, and I think we really created some super crazy magic together. I got a chance to sort of write with Santigold, M.I.A., Lady Tron — artists that I really love."

The album's sound, and presumably Aguilera's look to go along with it, will reflect the eclectic vibe that she's striving for on the album. "The overall versatility of this record is truly something special for me," she explained. "I experimented with so many different types of textures and sounds with my voice that I've never showcased and that I never really knew that I could do."

She added that "working with so many different people, I really kind of wanted to step into their worlds, them into my world and just get the best of both worlds."

"I really like to step outside of my own box," she said. "The result was just crazy magic. There truly is something for everyone to enjoy on the record. Lots of good stuff in store!"

• Christina Aguilera
• Santigold
• M.I.A.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O performs at Lollapalooza 2009 on Saturday night
Photo: Rich Sancho/ MTV News

CHICAGO — First came the rain on Friday, then the heat on Saturday. But Lollapalooza breeds a hearty stock, so with slip 'n slides, togas and giant Chinese peasant hats in tow, out came the 70,000-plus for another day of music that was capped by fill-in headliners the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and doomy metal icons Tool.

Taking the place of the Beastie Boys, who had to drop out several weeks ago due to MC Adam Yauch's bout with cancer of the salivary gland, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought their always-colorful A-game, led, as usual, by fashion-forward singer Karen O, who took the stage in a kaleidoscopic, towering bird costume. Down on the south end, things couldn't have looked and sounded any more different, as Tool singer Maynard James Keenan stripped down to a pair of black workout shorts and moaned the lyrics to his band's turgid D&D metal as giant H.R. Giger-like images of giant bugs and morphing aliens were projected on the big screens.

Saturday dawned hot and steamy, with a chance of furnace blasts, as Friday's buckets of rain turned some parts of Grant Park into a fetid field of chocolate-colored slop that smelled like the elephant house at the zoo. English trio Band of Skulls had the honors of kicking off day two with a raucous set of dirty blues that included the stomper, "Death by Diamonds and Pearls." Also working early was nasal folkie Ezra Furman and his band, the Harpoons, who charmed with the quirky plea for personal space, "I Wanna Be Ignored," a sentiment lost on some of the golden-knee-high-gladiator-sandal-feather-mask-and-giant-sombrero-wearing masses.

It was hard to ignore the big crowd for the relatively unknown Thenewno2. The band is led by Dhani Harrison, who told us a bit later that his dad, late Beatle George Harrison, forbade him to attend Lollapalooza as a youth, and said he could go when he performed at it. Well, Harrison finally arrived, and his five piece band played a mind-expanding set of raga rock that swooped and swayed in psychedelic washes, mixing shoegazer noise with more contemporary glitch rock, and, of course, Harrison's eerily familiar voice.

The debut album by Miike Snow — which features the Swedish production duo known as Bloodshy & Avant (Britney Spears, Madonna) and American singer Andrew Wyatt — is full of catchy falsetto synth pop. But onstage, with the group wearing totally weather-inappropriate black satin jackets and black jeans, songs like "Silvia" and "Plastic Jungle" came off like throbbing techno rock brain teasers, ebbing and flowing with a hypnotic thrum.

Stomping around the stage like a petulant little girl, Norwegian rocker Ida Maria regaled the crowd with her many songs about drinking and its less appetizing aftermath ("Morning Light," "Louie"), bounding around in a shiny gold dress with what appeared to be a lengthy poem scrawled on one of her forearms. Minneapolis hip-hop crew Atmosphere drew a huge crowd on the south stage midday, with thousands of hands pumping in the air for "Puppets," and lots of knowing nods when lead rapper Slug threw in a lyrical reference to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" in honor of the missing legendary crew.

In their Lollapalooza debut, England's Arctic Monkeys thrashed out of the gate with the trippy "This House Is a Circus" and pub-fueled bounce of "Fluorescent Adolescent," letting up a bit as they moved through a few too-slow songs before hitting their clattering stride again on the breakthrough hit, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor."

	Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santigold, More At Lollapalooza 2009

Seemingly recovered from previous vocal problems, Santigold looked regal in an animal-print jumper and bejeweled crown as she reworked "You'll Find a Way," "Shove It" and "Say Aha," with dub and mashed-up live beats in front of an audience packed with girls wearing animal feathers in their hair and glittery golden eye shadow.

They were also decked out for Sweden's answer to Lady Gaga, Lykke Li, whose entire body pulsed like a pint-size percussion instrument. Moving in frenzied blur as if possessed by the rhythm, Li smashed a tambourine, struck a crash cymbal and honked on a kazoo during "Dance, Dance, Dance," and thrummed on her chest during the slinky "Little Bit."

The thrum was mind-zapping when sonic amoeba Animal Collective abandoned the more poppy song structures of their most recent album, Merriweather Post Pavilion and moved a blissed-out crowd with a set of loose, trancy falsetto incantations, trippy visuals and dense, throbbing bass and synthesized clicks. Singer Avey Tare often looked as if he himself was lost himself in the sonic brainwash.

The day also featured the melodic hardcore rantings of Chicago's own Rise Against, the hippie friendly jamming of Gomez, Coheed and Cambria's ear-shredding prog metal arias and some rocking blues from Ben Harper and the Relentless7.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs didn't shy away from the unenviable task of filling in for the Beastie Boys. Guitarist Nick Zinner tossed in a few bars of the B Boys' "So Watcha Want" at the end of the grinding, Led Zeppelin-like dirge "Phenomena." Dressed, as usual, in a colorful ensemble, singer Karen O danced like an indie disco queen during "Gold Lion" and the spiky "Honeybear," ably working the big stage with her larger-than-life persona and eliciting some knowing nods from likely newbies with the burbling intro to the band's recent hit, "Zero."

A quick 9 p.m. stroll past Perry's dance area, where, as was the case all day, thousands were jumping and twirling to the sounds of party music emerging from what looked like a giant flashing spaceship, yielded an earful of some seriously tweaked dancehall reggae moving into hardcore hippie techno. On the other main stage, though, there were no such glow-stick-twirling vibes, as Tool helped close out the night with a grinding, visual overload set of prog/industrial metal that brought out the faithful, many proudly wearing their weathered black Tool shirts.

"Stinkfist" got the majority of the dirty and exhausted crowd to wake up, and "Forty Six & 2" built slowly to an anthemic chorus that had the masses raising their voices along with Mohawked Keenan's unmistakable growl. Guitarist Adam Jones' work shredded faces, and appropriately enough, the video playing behind the band was a digital face being destroyed, just one of the band's signature disturbing visuals, which ranged from babies being born inside brains to quite a bit more things piercing eyeballs than would seem totally necessary.

They swayed and jumped, predictably going ballistic by the time "Schism" came on, with drummer Danny Carey tearing up his kit on the bridge to the final build. Ending with the bleak, ominous "Vicarious," Tool left without an encore, which seemed fine for the spent masses shuffling off into the humid night air.

• The Lollapalooza 2009 Experience

• Vampire Weekend, Jane's Addiction, More At Lollapalooza 2009

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Tool
• Animal Collective
• Santigold

Santigold
Photo: Logan Fazio/ FilmMagic

Mixtapes have traditionally been for promotional use only, and while that line has always been blurry, their legality has been in the spotlight recently. Late last week, Drake's management sent a cease-and-desist order to iTunes to stop the sale of an unauthorized album, The Girls Love Drake. And in early April, lawyers at Cash Money Records explained the details behind reports of Lil Wayne suing DJ Drama.

It looks like Santigold can throw her name in the ring of confusion. In a blog post last week, DJ Terry Urban issued a statement about a mixtape he was planning called Southerngold, which was set to feature verses from a variety of Southern rappers over samples from Santigold's self-titled debut album. Urban is best known for his and Mick Boogie's Viva la Hova, on which Jay-Z's verses were mixed with Coldplay's Viva la Vida.

But his latest mixtape might never see the light of day.

"As many of you know, I've been preparing to release an exciting mixtape this summer called Southerngold," Urban wrote in the blog post. "Basically, me mixing my favorite Southern rap vocals over remixed samples of my favorite Santigold-influenced samples and tracks. ... However, as I am about to release my mix on the Internet tonight ... I get a cease-and-desist from lawyers at Santigold's label, Downtown Records."

Urban added that he was not selling or making any money from the mixtape but was instead hoping to expand Santi's fanbase. He also questioned whether Downtown was aware of the role DJs have played in Santigold's success.

"All the deejays who have made homemade remixes and re-edits that have gotten play in clubs across the world? It's not like commercial radio was embracing her music when she dropped," Urban wrote. "It was the progressive deejay, the same deejays who make remixes and mash-ups and support avant-garde creative music!"

Santigold seemed to agree, chiming in on the issue in a statement Thursday. "Some kid just hit me up about this on MySpace," the singer said. "It was the first I ever heard about it. I've never heard anything about this DJ or this remix, and certainly did not send a cease-and-desist letter. I'm a supporter of mixtape culture and intend to get to the bottom of it."

Santigold was unavailable for further comment when contacted due to doctor's orders to rest her voice. Downtown Records had no comment on the situation.

• Santigold

Afro-Punk band Blood Sugar
Photo: www.bashirawebb.com

James Spooner, like a lot of kids growing up in Southern California in the 1990s, was into punk rock.

But unlike most of the kids in the scene, he's black. Sometimes, this posed a problem.

"I was in this tiny desert town that was pretty much all white, and the punk scene was very racist," he recalled. "You would go to shows and it was blatantly white power, swastikas, all of that."

But when he moved to New York during high school, Spooner found "a gang of black kids" just like him. For the first time in his life, "I could be who I wanted to be," he said. "[They] made it OK for me, you know?"

The fundamental contradiction of black kids feeling left out of rock — which from its very beginning was based on black music — has played a large role in the creation of Afro-Punk. And while there have been many black artists who have been embraced by white rock fans, from Little Richard to Sly and the Family Stone to the Bad Brains, the Afro-Punk movement has found fans bonding and creating communities, organizing shows and shooting films in a whole new way.

Afro-Punk has gone from the name of a message board to a movement in less than five years — and the scene just keeps growing.

Before the 2000s, Spooner said, "there were no black bands in the mainstream doing anything alternative." Sure, bands like the Bad Brains, Fishbone and Living Colour had set an example for the younger generation — and the Black Rock Coalition was formed during the 1980s — but the success of the mostly black group TV on the Radio has crashed the door open for the movement.

Now, British rockers the Noisettes and singers Santogold and Janelle Monáe are poster children for the movement, even though the artists in the scene sound completely different.

When we checked in with Afro-Punk promoters Kaos Blac and Rape Whistle, they rattled off a mind-spinningly diverse list of bands. It includes:

Game Rebellion
Brooklyn rockers who meld punk, metal and hip-hop with a rudeboy 'tude.

The Apes
A Washington, D.C., psych-rock foursome who masters a balance between goofiness and raw power.

Ebony Bones
This former UK TV star makes truly danceable post-punk electro-pop and loves comics as much as we do.

Whole Wheat Bread
An old-school-style punk band that has worked with Rancid and Lil Jon.

VV Brown
A British songstress who mixes doo-wop and pop, and whose latest video is for her song "Crying Blood."

Tamar Kali
A hardcore-tinged rocker who's become a favorite on New York's downtown music scene, her debut LP, Black Bottom, will be released next summer.

So how did this thriving movement become a scene in the first place? T-Kali knows from joining Spooner on the road, when he was shooting his "Afro-Punk" documentary in 2001. (She's on the cover of the DVD — check her out in our photo gallery, along with some of our favorite Afro-Punk moments here.)

"To this day, I always get messages on MySpace from people saying, 'I saw you!' " she said. "That's a wonderful thing."

Spooner's doc, which debuted in 2003 at the Toronto Film Festival, also featured TV on the Radio as well as bands such as Cipher, in his attempt to document "the other black experience." It continues, five years later, to screen at festivals.

"The film surprisingly has legs that a lot of other films don't," Spooner said. "I just did two screenings last month. The film continues to reach new people."

Part of that reach extends online. "Afro-Punk" the documentary inspired the messageboard AfroPunk.com, and from the fan discussion there, Spooner realized that they could turn the desire for Afro-Punk shows into a music festival, which now happens annually.

One of the first shows Spooner did was an afterparty for one of the documentary screenings, so he reached out to the band Stiffed (the band formerly led by Santi White, who is now known as Santogold) via manager Matthew Morgan, "and he was like, 'No problem — we'll do it for free,' " Spooner said.

As the popularity of Santogold and other artists loosely associated with the scene has grown, Afro-Punk has exploded beyond its musical definition, even including Grammy-nominated Bad Boy recording artist Janelle Monáe, whose music can hardly be considered traditionally punk (she's opened for Nas and has been called "the female version of Prince" by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz).

"I felt it was my duty as an artist and as a young African-American woman to support Afro-Punk," Monáe told us at the Afro-Punk Festival last summer.

"I think it's very important to let people know that we're not all the same. Diversity needs to be promoted more ... I love being in that environment, and that is something I am trying to promote."

Some of the bands associated with Afro-Punk — like Santogold — helped support the scene and increase its visibility simply by showing up. Others who aren't associated, like Lupe Fiasco, helped out just by singing about subjects like skateboarding.

"Lupe was able to, in one song, propel the idea of black kids skateboarding into a whole new generation," Spooner said. "That's all out of 'Kick, Push.' "

Spooner's since handed off the Afro-Punk torch to Morgan, who has taken the lead in managing the bands, running the Web site and promoting the annual festival. "He had a big vision," Spooner said.

The Afro-Punk brand now plays a key role in events like CMJ and South by Southwest, partnering with those larger festivals with the goal of introducing a lineup of bands to a diverse audience who might not have discovered them otherwise. Morgan plans to make the festival a national one next year, and to tour Africa in 2010.

"A festival in Africa is a really important step for us," he said. "We want to spread that sense of freedom."

Technology has helped, Spooner pointed out. "iPods change the way we listen to music," he said. "[With shuffling,] genre after genre, they all start blending together."

Still, that blending doesn't erase all racial boundaries. Spooner said part of the reason the scene is growing is because the issues addressed in the film are still affecting young people. Punk shows are still mostly white, and black rock fans may not always get the most positive reaction in the black community.

And even with Afro-Punk's growing popularity, some of the bands associated with it don't like to talk about it publicly for fear of losing their white audience, Spooner said. Could that be due to the scene's growing pains as it wavers between DIY and the mainstream? Or does it make Afro-Punk more needed than ever before?

"We will have succeeded when Afro-Punk is no longer relevant," Spooner said. "Clearly we are not there yet, but I'd like to believe that we are on our way. When that day comes, there will no doubt be a 14-year-old kid who flips off Afro-Punk and says, 'I'm starting my own thing,' and that's what they should do. I think that's the nature of scenes, and I wouldn't be mad at them. I would be like, 'Can I come to your show?' "

Photographers Bashira Webb, Richard Louissant and Ed Marshall Photography NYC contributed to this gallery and their sites are great sources for more Afro-Punk photography.

• How Afro-Punk Turned Into A Movement

• Afro-Punk: Five Years Of Rebellion

• Santigold
• TV On The Radio
• Janelle Monae

Jamal "Gravy" Woolard as Notorious B.I.G. in the film "Notorious"
Photo: Phil Caruso

Some of Notorious B.I.G.'s greatest hits and early, little-known recordings fill out the soundtrack to "Notorious," the forthcoming biopic about the legendary Brooklyn rapper. Slated for release on January 13 on Bad Boy/ Atlantic, the soundtrack features hit singles that endeared Biggie to the masses as well as some of his demos, appearances from his family and brand-new records some of his closest peers, including Jay-Z and Jadakiss. (The movie is slated for release January 16 through Fox Searchlight Pictures.)

Jay, who teamed up with Big for such classics as "Brooklyn's Finest," "I Love the Dough" and Puff Daddy & the Family's "Young G's," comes with "Brooklyn Go Hard," as previously reported by MTV News. The Kanye West-produced track features Santogold. Although an official video is still being discussed, an unsanctioned clip — featuring Hov in animated form — has already hit the Internet.

Jadakiss appears on "A Letter to B.I.G." The track was originally recorded for Jada's Last Kiss LP, and the filmmakers thought it was perfect to include on the "Notorious" project. Obviously, Jada and Big were not strangers: The Biggie/ LOX collaborations during the Bad Boy dynasty years were legendary. The title of 'Kiss' record is self-explanatory: He speaks directly to his deceased friend, who died in a still-unsolved murder in 1997.

Bad Boy has also confirmed that Biggie's son, Christopher "CJ" Wallace Jr., will be performing on a new version of "One More Chance." It's being labeled as "a duet" by Bad Boy. CJ's mom, Faith Evans, sings on a remix of the song, also featured on the album.

Early records "Microphone Murderer" and "Guaranteed Raw" — which never made it onto an album but garnered Big a neighborhood buzz during his early years — are also included, along with his first-ever officially released track (from the 1993 "Who's the Man?" soundtrack), "Party & Bullsh--."

"Notorious" soundtrack track listing, according to Bad Boy Records:

1. "Notorious Thugs" (featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
2. "Hypnotize"
3. "Notorious"
4. "Juicy"
5. "Party & Bullsh--"
6. "Warning"
7. "One More Chance" remix (featuring Faith Evans)
8. "Brooklyn Go Hard" (Jay-Z featuring Santogold)
9. "Letter to B.I.G." (Jadakiss featuring Faith Evans)
10. "Kick in the Door"
11. "What's Beef"
12. "World Is Filled"
13. "One More Chance" (featuring CJ)
14. "The Notorious Theme" (composed by Danny Elfman)
15. "Microphone Murderer" (previously unreleased demo)
16. "Guaranteed Raw" (previously unreleased demo)
17. "Love No Ho" (previously unreleased demo)

• Notorious B.I.G.
• Diddy
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
• Faith Evans
• Jay-Z

Kate Nash
Photo: MTV News

We all know there's a heap of massive releases en route this year that the big labels are hoping will cure their low-CD-sales blues, but don't think they're the only important releases coming this year. MTV News has rounded up several alternatives to Mariah, Coldplay, etc. — less obvious artists that we think you shouldn't miss. For example, if you're jonesing for the new Mariah you should check out Estelle; if you can't wait for the new Gnarls Barkley, see what Santogold has to offer. Here are the five newcomers who could be household names by the end of the year.

Kate Nash

You could call Kate Nash the next Lily Allen — but don't tell her that. "I think it misses the point," Nash protested. "[If] I'm like Lily Allen, everyone else is like the new Kate Nash." OK, whatever, fair enough — we're just crushing on you (MTV's Buzzworthy blog even named her Artist of the Week just last week). To be fair, the girl's folkie/ big-band/ hip-hop ditties have their own influences. While Nash actually studied classical piano, she gives the nod to Regina Spektor for her playing style. Then she got turned on to punk, from the Buzzcocks to Nirvana and the riot grrrls of Bikini Kill. And like another recent U.K. female breakout, Bat for Lashes, Nash also names Kate Bush and Björk as inspirations for nonconformity. "Because of what they do and the way they experiment and their long-lasting careers and the way they present themselves," she explained. "I just like throwing paint around." Combining this experimentation with the cut-and-paste of punk, Nash also started a Xeroxed fanzine called My Ignorant Youth, packed with short stories and confessional rants by the singer and her friends. "It kind of made me feel how I used to feel when I started doing stuff and it was all really DIY," she said. "Just do it and get it out there, rather than all the complications that come with it when it becomes a bigger deal." Nash will bring the third issue of the 'zine, usually tossed out into the crowd, along on the next leg of her tour.

The Kooks

The only band of our '08 crew — and the most straight-up rock act — the Kooks hail from the U.K.'s Brighton, the seaside town that brought the world the Who movie-musical "Quadrophenia" and ... the Vespa trend? After meeting in music school, the shaggy-haired, chain-smoking foursome formed a garage-rock outfit named for a song from David Bowie's Hunky Dory. Their debut, Inside In/ Inside Out, dropped in the U.S. in 2006, with a sound that gives a nod to the Police, the Kinks and the Clash. Now the guys have just finished their sophomore effort, Konk, named for the North London studio where they recorded both their albums, mostly live-to-tape. Not bad that Konk Studios is owned by former Kinks frontman Ray Davies ("Lola"? "Waterloo Sunset"? Seriously, hit up iTunes). Konk arrives Stateside in April, and you can catch the boys on tour starting next month — assuming singer Luke Pritchard doesn't get into another nasty scrape with Amy Winehouse.

Estelle

Hailing from West London, Estelle (born Estelle Swaray) is just 27 and already staging a "comeback." Having broken through in the U.K. in 2004 with her infectious single "1980," Estelle — then a much-hyped female rapper — scored a multi-album deal with label V2. But, she says, once she veered from the straight hip-hop path into old-school soul — closer to James Brown and Dinah Washington — the label didn't really know what to do with her. "It's like they have a template and you have to stick with it," Estelle said. "I'm not cookie-cutter. No one's listening to one style of music anymore. Get rid of genres!" Luckily, John Legend, who teamed up with her on an early track, was both smitten with her singing chops and shopping around for artists to sign to his new label, HomeSchool Records. The second single from her new album, Shine, (due stateside in February) is "American Boy" and features Kanye West, who Estelle opened for in the U.K. And as for what to expect next? The genre-jumping artist just might get even more international. "I've started getting into a lot of salsa," she said. "I've just discovered Hector Lavoe. He's my dude!"

Spank Rock

Philly MC Spank Rock seems to be posing the question: What if Luke were an art-school kid and 2 Live Crew were a totally over-the-top conceptual prank? The clinically insane video for the track "B.O.O.T.A.Y." says it all: a mashup of idiotically down-and-dirty lyrics, art-house effects, Robert Palmer-style backup dancers and a rapper rocking Devo glasses. So how did Spank Rock (real name: Naeem Juwan) get this way? Maybe by growing up in a "kinda druggy" West Baltimore 'hood ("not as bad as 'The Wire'!," he stressed) while commuting to prep school. Maybe by getting raised on schizophrenic mixtapes that were equal parts hip-hop, reggae and pop — from Public Enemy to Talking Heads. Once he moved to Philly, Spank Rock was knocked out by the boundary-free Hollertronix parties led by DJ (and M.I.A. producer) Diplo, who would help land him his first record deal. "They were playing everything from, like, Dirty South to '80s pop-rock music and Baltimore club [tracks]. There weren't any rules to the party," the MC said. He approaches his own music with the same attitude. So when he paired up with 19-year-old producer Benny Blanco for their waaaaay filthy Bangers & Cash EP, Spank Rock felt free to just put out tracks "about sex and making people dance." "Whether it's a dance song or Dead Prez," he said, "it doesn't matter. I like all music just the same, as long as it has that spirit behind it."

Santogold

Rocking uncharted turf at the crossroads between new wave, hip-hop, dub and '80s pop, Santogold (Santi White) is as much of a musical hybrid as her friend M.I.A. and as much of a pop renegade as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O. Part of Spank Rock's extended Philly family, Santi got her style tips from the public-school tough girls and her education from Quakers (seriously!) — not to mention what she picked up from her free-thinking parents. "My mom's from Mississippi, picking cotton and desegregating schools, and she's like a psychiatrist and a Southern crazy person," Santi said. "And then my dad is from the projects in north Philly. [He] changed the name of his school to Malcolm X High School and went from having nothing to going to Wesleyan and then to Penn Law School. A constant theme in my upbringing across the board has been to create your own path and to think for yourself." After starting out penning songs for other artists (including Res), Santi finally starting writing for herself, as the frontwoman for punk outfit Stiffed, which released an indie album called Burned Again in 2005. When the group split, she and bandmate John Hill started Santogold. Diplo brought producer Switch (who worked on M.I.A.'s Kala) onboard, and soon Santogold's sound became as much about live instruments as messed-up beats. The resulting self-titled album (due in April) runs from the dreamy '80s pop of "Lights Out" to the freaked-out hip-hop/dub of "Creator." "It's totally cross-genre," she said. "Call it something if you want, but I don't know what it is."

[This story was originally published at 2:58 p.m. ET on 01.14.2008]

• Music Alternatives For '08

• Kate Nash
• Spank Rock
• Santigold

Woodie Awards 2008 Performers

• Q-Tip
• Chromeo
• Vampire Weekend
• Asher Roth
• Santigold

Woodie Awards 2008 Red Carpet

• Paramore
• The All-American Rejects
• All Time Low
• Lykke Li
• Santigold

Vampire Weekend, Jane's Addiction, More At Lollapalooza 2009

• Depeche Mode
• Perry Farrell
• Kings Of Leon
• The Knux
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Nine Inch Nails, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Many More At Bonnaroo 2009

• Nine Inch Nails
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Erykah Badu
• Snoop Dogg
• MGMT

MTV's Artist of the Week 06.23.08: Santogold

• Santigold