"Creator" is the debut single by American artist Santogold (now
Santigold
Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...
), and along with "
L.E.S. Artistes
"L.E.S. Artistes" is the second single by American artist Santigold (known then as ''Santogold''), and along with " Creator", the first to be taken from her self-titled debut '' Santogold'' (see 2008 in music).
Background
"L.E.S. Artistes" was ...
", the first to be taken from her then self-titled debut ''
Santogold''. It is written by
Daryn McFayden,
Santi White
Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...
and
David Taylor.
The song features Santi
singjay
Singjaying is a Jamaican style of reggae vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singer ...
ing.
Release and reception
"Creator" was released as a limited edition 12" vinyl in late 2007 and January 2008, with "
L.E.S. Artistes
"L.E.S. Artistes" is the second single by American artist Santigold (known then as ''Santogold''), and along with " Creator", the first to be taken from her self-titled debut '' Santogold'' (see 2008 in music).
Background
"L.E.S. Artistes" was ...
" as its
b-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
. It was later released on the
US iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
on March 25, 2008.
The song featured in an advert for
Alberto Vo5
Alberto-Culver was an American corporation with international sales whose principal business was manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, Andrew Collnge, St. Ives (skin care products), TRESemmé, FDS ...
hair products in the UK throughout spring 2008 and summer 2009. It has also been played in the
Bud Light: Lime advert, which premiered in May 2008.
The song was also featured in an episode of ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'', ''
Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
'' (Season 4, Episode 9) and the final episode of ''
Entourage
An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...
'' season 4. Additionally, the song was featured on the July 1st, 2009 episode of ''So You Think You Can Dance''. The song is also featured on the video game ''
FaceBreaker'', ''
NBA 2K9
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
'', ''
NBA 2K15'' and
NBA 2K17
''NBA 2K17'' is a 2016 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the 18th installment in the ''NBA 2K'' franchise and the successor to ''NBA 2K16''. It was released worldwide on September 20, ...
.
In September 2008, it featured in an episode of ''
Gossip Girl
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
'' as Blair Waldorf walks in on Nate and her boyfriend's mom making out. Alex Denney of
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
called the song's introduction "an audacious way of introducing yourself to the world; with one of the most irritating vocals ever committed to tape." Denney goes on to say that "Creator" sounds "like giant robots crushing epic landscapes underfoot, a thuddingly neo-tribal and achingly, even clownishly modern floor." At the end of the review, the "Creator/L.E.S. Artistes" EP was rated seven out of ten. Todd Martens of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' described the song as "an urban safari of warped
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
noises."
Music video
Director
Ace Norton
Ace Norton (born May 24, 1982, in Venice, Los Angeles, California) is a Japanese American filmmaker and artist born and raised in Venice, California. Norton creates visuals on a variety of media platforms including music videos, commercials, fas ...
shot a video for "Creator" in the beginning of 2008; however, it did not get released since the single was changed to "
L.E.S. Artistes
"L.E.S. Artistes" is the second single by American artist Santigold (known then as ''Santogold''), and along with " Creator", the first to be taken from her self-titled debut '' Santogold'' (see 2008 in music).
Background
"L.E.S. Artistes" was ...
". Santi explained that they had "shot a video for Creator and it was bad. The director didn't get the shots that we needed. ...And the video was not good enough for this song. ...I was like, we're not gonna use it. And they were like, we just spent all this money. So we changed the single to LES, and had a video, and people loved it, and it worked."
Track listing
*12" vinyl:
(DWT70032; January 22, 2008 (US); February 24, 2008 (UK))
#Creator – 3:32
#L.E.S. Artistes – 3:43
*U.S. Digital download:
(March 25, 2008)
#Creator – 3:32
#L.E.S. Artistes – 3:43
Official versions and remixes
* Original Version — 4:17
* Album Version — 3:33
* Instrumental — 3:20
* Mumdance Mix feat. Jammer, Badness, Chronik Rage, Slikman & Tempz — 3:32
(appears on ''Top Ranking
''Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub'' is the first mixtape by American musician and singer Santigold (then going by ''Santogold'') and Philadelphia-based DJ Diplo, released on July 15, 2008.
Background
''Top Ranking'' features remixes of songs from Sa ...
'')
* Scottie B Remix — 4:12
Release history
Charts
"Creator" spent two nonconsecutive weeks in March 2008 at number forty-four on
''Billboard'''s
Hot Singles Sales
This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...
chart,
before falling to number forty-nine.
References
{{authority control
2007 songs
2008 debut singles
Santigold songs
Songs written by Santigold
Songs written by Switch (house DJ)
Atlantic Records singles