| I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Mixtape by | ||||
| Released | July 27, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 2018 | |||
| Genre | Dancehall [1] | |||
| Length | 32:46 | |||
| Label | Downtown | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Santigold chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions | ||||
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I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions is the second mixtape by American musician and singer Santigold, released on July 27, 2018, through Downtown Records. [2]
On July 26, 2018, Santigold announced she would be releasing a surprise dancehall album in the style of a mixtape, and shared "Run the Road" as the first single, which premiered on Zane Low's Beats 1 show on Apple Music. The album was recorded in sessions that lasted over two weeks with Dre Skull, in which they crafted new songs from unfinished ones they had found, including ones Santigold had previously worked on with producers, Diplo and Ricky Blaze. [3] She explained, "we went into the studio and we spent one week where he just made beats and I came in and did melodies, and then did another week where I came in and wrote and recorded everything. It was really fast. There was another chunk after that, but then there was a big break where I found out I was having twins. I had them, and then life got crazy. I recorded the last vocals when I was literally 9 months pregnant." [4] The two stated that they were "playing with reggae and Afro-Caribbean influences while pushing and pulling their pillars with Santi's singular point of view." Santigold expressed her wish to continue this "spontaneous and quick" approach for future projects, explaining: "I think I'm going to keep doing that for a while, rather than focusing on big, whole projects. I don't think people necessarily digest music in the same way. So I'm going to do fun stuff for a minute, a different way. I have another EP I'm about to do with someone else that's going to be really fun and fast." [5]
Originally released only as a digital download, a physical version was released as a yellow and black multi-color vinyl LP for Record Store Day on April 13, 2019. [6]
I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions is primarily influenced by dancehall, reggae, traditional and contemporary African pop, and Afro-Caribbean music. Paper magazine called the album "musically borderless, fiercely energizing, and as aggressively catchy as it is political." [4] The ten songs of the album feature syncopation and "keyboard bubbles", with each song cross-fading into the next one. [7]
Santigold described the album as "a summer reggae record", and stated that the album was inspired by the dancehall musicians she grew up listening to while visiting Jamaica, a place she considers to be "like a second home" to her. [1] She further elaborated on the sound of the album: "There's dancehall, and then there's reggae. And there's overlap but there's a totally different sound of reggae which is like roots reggae and all kind of stuff that's not dancehall, because it's more like old school reggae, and there's so much. There's a lot of African influences on this album, African music has influenced me a lot in my life as well. So those are, I would say the three pillars of this record." [4] Santigold explained that the majority of the songs were driven by social commentary rather than by the current political climate. [1]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100 [8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Highsnobiety | 4/5 [9] |
| MusicOMH |   [10] |
| The Observer | [7] |
| Pitchfork | 7.4/10 [11] |
Pitchfork writer Karas Lamb stated that the album "combines Santigold's musical past with a passion for spontaneous experimentation. It plays like a distillation of joy. "Crashing Your Party," "A Perfect Life," and the titular closing track dip into the sonic territory of Blondie, bhangra, and afrobeats to suggest that Santigold created The Gold Fire Sessions much like she created herself: without borders or rules or walls." [11] The New York Times critic Jon Pareles wrote that "Santigold's charm, pop instincts and steely sense of purpose can all be found" on the album. [12] Ben Devlin of MusicOMH said that "the dubby sound effects placed throughout as track transitions give the impression of a relatively low stakes mixtape. This is no bad thing though, as the creative synthesis between her and producer Dre Skull means there isn't a dull moment on the record. I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions is a gem, an energetic and hook-filled album that leaves the listener wanting more." [10]
In her review for The Observer , Kitty Empire wrote, "Without disrespecting Santigold's previous output, however, it feels as though I Don't Want might be a case of the right set at the right time. The Gold Fire Sessions takes advantage of the spontaneity afforded by rapidly music consumption, by catching another dancehall wave at the precise moment it crests." [7] Highsnobiety 's Cameron Cook called the album "a milestone for dancehall music," and concluded his review writing: "I Don't Want seems like the culmination of so many facets of Santi's persona: genre-hopping pop music, tropical melodies, the African diaspora, no-nonsense attitude. In a way, it would be somewhat affirming to see her career take on new life within the tight-knit dancehall community, but more likely, this album will serve as an important marker in her discography, a moment when everything she stands for came together to make something truly special, a milestone in the dancehall movement that tested the genre's boundaries and won." [9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Coo Coo Coo" | Dre Skull | 3:29 | |
| 2. | "Run the Road" |
|
| 4:22 |
| 3. | "Wha' You Feel Like" |
| Skull | 2:37 |
| 4. | "I Don't Want" |
| Skull | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Valley of the Dolls" |
|
| 4:16 |
| 6. | "Why Me" |
| Skull | 2:26 |
| 7. | "Crashing Your Party" |
|
| 2:44 |
| 8. | "Don't Blame Me" (featuring Shenseea) |
| Skull | 2:20 |
| 9. | "A Perfect Life" |
| Skull | 2:47 |
| 10. | "Gold Fire" |
| Skull | 3:51 |
| Total length: | 32:46 | |||
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [13] | 159 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [14] | 180 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [15] | 21 |
| US Reggae Albums (Billboard) [16] | 1 |
Thomas Wesley Pentz, known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ, songwriter, and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with Sia and Labrinth, a member of electronic duo Jack Ü with producer and DJ Skrillex, and a member of Silk City with Mark Ronson. He founded and manages record company Mad Decent, as well as co-founding the non-profit organization Heaps Decent. His 2013 EP, Revolution, debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200. The EP's title track was later featured in a commercial for Hyundai and is featured on the WWE 2K16 soundtrack.
Marion Hall is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, she is the first female deejay to be certified as a triple-platinum and Grammy Award-winning artist.
Santi White, known professionally as Santigold, is an American singer and songwriter. Billboard presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, Santigold’s singular pen and voice have helped shape the past two decades of popular music". Her debut studio album, Santogold (2008), received widespread critical acclaim for its cross-genre combining dub, new wave, and hip-hop. The album's second single "L.E.S. Artistes", reached the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart.
American musician Santi White, better known by her stage name Santigold, has released four studio albums, two mixtapes, one extended play (EP), and twenty-two singles. White's discography under the name Santogold consists of her eponymous debut album, six singles, one mixtape, and four music videos, all of which were released in 2008, except the single "Creator", which was released in late 2007. Santogold peaked at number 74 on the Billboard 200, and reached numbers 2 and 6 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums and Independent Albums, respectively. The album also charted in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
"Lights Out" is a song by American musician Santigold. It was released on August 11, 2008, through Downtown, Lizard King and Atlantic Records as the third single from her debut studio album, Santogold (2008).
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"Dancehall Queen" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn, taken from her fifth studio album, Body Talk Pt. 1 (2010). The song was written by Klas Åhlund, who produced it with disc jockey Diplo. The initial writing and production of the song arose from a discussion by Robyn, Diplo and Åhlund about Ace of Base. The song features a dancehall and reggae-infused sound with 1980s synths and bass. It was released as a promotional single before the album was launched in April 2010.
"Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" is a song by American rap rock group Beastie Boys, from their eighth studio album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Featuring American singer Santigold, the song was released as the fourth and final single from the album on July 26, 2011. "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" was written and produced by group members Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, with additional writing by Santigold.
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Ricardo Lloyd Johnson Jr., also known as Ricky Blaze, is an American DJ, producer, singer, and songwriter. He has done production work in the dancehall music space and the trancehall subgenre. He has produced and collaborated with Shaggy and Sean Paul, and has also worked with Vybz Kartel, Jim Jones, Maino, Kardinal Offishall, Jasmine Sullivan, Nicki Minaj, and Santigold.
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Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly, known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper and singer from Maryland. She began self-releasing content in 2014, while in high school, and had released five solo mixtapes by late 2017. She gained a local, underground following with SoundCloud singles such as "iCarly" and "Hey Arnold". After gaining wider recognition with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin" in 2018, she signed to Atlantic Records where she released her sixth mixtape, Nasty (2018). This was followed by the collaborative mixtape Anger Management (2019) with long time associate Kenny Beats. Rico Nasty's debut studio album, Nightmare Vacation, was released in December 2020. Rico's seventh mixtape, Las Ruinas, was released on July 22, 2022.
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