Cruel Summer
“Santi’s ‘Mandy & The Jungle’ is a deep dive into the world of the reclusive artist. His emotional honesty reveals a new side of him, while making music perfectly suited to soundtrack the next ten summers.”
For the past two years, there have been rumblings across social media, distressed cries from disgruntled fans. London, Lagos, Tokyo, Toronto, it didn’t matter, people around the globe united in their clamoring for an album from Santi, Nigeria’s newest star. Santi utilises social media sparingly compared to many of his musical peers. He provides a slow drip of visuals and singles, we see shaky fan videos of him shaking his dreads like a lion’s mane on Twitter, but he never fully feels present. Of course this is all by design, a meticulous process all designed to build up to the release of his debut album, ‘Mandy & The Jungle.’ Santi’s journey thus far was documented by Toye Sokunbi of The Native Mag and we were able to see how he had put years of thought into his artistic process, refining it until it was something he knew was capable of establishing him as someone taking Nigerian music to places it had never been before. The album reflects his efforts, a tightly crafted yet expansive look into who Santi really is. We see him at his most comfortable and vulnerable, a glimpse behind his patented scowl presented in the form of an irresistible new style of Nigerian pop music.
The first indicator of how personal ‘Mandy & The Jungle’ would be occured in the days leading up to the album’s release when Santi released the tracklist and credits for the album. As Santi’s stature in the music world has grown over the years, artists and producers from around the world have acknowledged and praised his music. Instead of taking the route that some artists choose to go, with big name features and producers on their debuts as a way of saying “I’ve arrived”, Santi kept Mandy as a family production. With Odunsi the Engine as the executive producer, GMK as the engineer, and Genio Bambino and Odunsi handling the bulk of the production, it’s clear that Santi could only trust the Monster Boy team with the responsibility of shaping the sound of his world. With additional collaboration from frequent collaborators Higo, Le Mav, and DOZ of 8O Sounds, the sounds of Mandy are lush, crisp, and spacy, a perfect playground for Santi to switch between his many styles, making songs that can accomodate any moment that summer brings about.
‘Raining Outside’ sets the tone for both Santi’s approach to the album lyrically and sonically. It is the criminally underrated Higo’s drums that bubble and snap with a warm vibrancy, inviting Santi to sing about how he’s going to be there for his friend. He’s sweet and to the point, letting them know “when there’s nobody left at all, you’ve got a friend like me.” The song is followed up by ‘Demon Hearts’ with a raucous feature from DRAM. Santi’s able to deliver rap flows with a precise cool that balances out the caffeine buzz energy DRAM brings to the song. Demon Hearts is the type of song that would go off at a party on a drunk summer night with Santi displaying the versatility that has helped propel him to stardom. The album’s strong opening continues in ‘Monte Claire’ a stunning song with dreamlike production from Genio Bambino. Santi digs into it, opening up his vocals and putting on a sultry performance while delivering cold lines like “might as well pipe it, don’t even like ya”. The relationship he portrays sounds dysfunctional but honest, and the music itself is gorgeous, evidence of the chemistry between Santi and Genio.
Collaboration is something that Santi has never been one to shy away from. In wanting to share himself with listeners, he shows that he is not on his journey alone. It’s the Goldlink feature on the GMK & Odunsi helmed ‘Maria’, as evidence of a new level of stardom. It’s the flawless Kida Kudz appearance on the criminally horny ‘Raw Dinner’ as assurance that the future of Nigerian music is in good hands. Every feature feels perfect, with songs like Rapid Fire and Freaky feeling brand new in the context of the album. The album’s best feature might come from Seki who bring a frenetic energy on ‘Where You Been’ that makes him shine like a megawatt bulb. It’s a brief but star-making turn that will be sure to pick him up some new fans. One of Santi’s purest moments on the album comes on ‘Murvlana’ which will sound familiar to the fans that had heard the snippet which was slipped into the middle of the ‘Sparky’ video. Santi openly pines for an old love while singing “sometimes I think about you when I’m saucing, sometimes I think about you then I cry”. The song features another budding star in Tay Iwar which is fitting since the song is produced by Le Mav who seems so share a psychic link with Tay with their musical chemistry. Santi is able to tap into the link and the song shines as one of the album’s highlights. ‘Murvlana’ will be played to soothe the burns of summer heartbreaks for years to come.
It’s no mistake that Mandy was released in the middle of May, perfect for the buildup to the warm weather months where these songs can be enjoyed outdoors, with friends, their rich sounds giving space for dancing, talking, relaxing, loving, and more. We mythologise summer because it represents freedom. It is a time to indulge in your desires, a time where you can redefine or simply discover yourself. In Mandy, we see Santi enjoying the freedom that comes from knowing who you are and being confident enough to share that, while making it perfect for playing during the time we most associate with freedom. Everything has been by design and from the love that has been to shown to album by people across the internet, including globally known publications, it is clear that Santi’s patient preparation has paid off. The burden of being at the forefront of a generation of new artists is one that has been placed upon Santi’s shoulders but despite this pressure, we have never seen him blink or shake. He understands the responsibility he has and is making music that is truly unlike anything else out there. As the leader of this “alté” era of Nigerian music, he’s not leading with any gimmicks or tricks. Everything he does is authentic to his vision and story and his singular focus has produced an amazing debut album. This is Santi’s world now, we’re just living in it.
