Congratulations are in order for the head “Material Girl” in charge! Rapper and social media personality Saucy Santana has signed a major label deal with RCA records.
The Keep it Playa rapper made the announcement during an appearance on The Breakfast Club on April 27, and express gratitude that this might take his music career to levels he couldn’t reach quite as easily operating solely independently.
“I feel like that was the only thing that was stopping me, kind of,” Santana told host Angela Yee. “I feel like I didn’t have that complete backing with a major label. I put in a lot of work, I worked really hard being an independent artist. But I feel like now, with that major backing, I can clear certain samples, I could get this radio sh*t going, I can get these bigger artists [to collaborate]. It’s up.”
Santana, née Justin Harris, has dominated social trends on platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram for the better part of the last two years, with a dance set to his 2021 hit “Here We Go” and challenges and trends set to his 2020 songs “Material Girl” and “Walk” each going mega-viral in quick succession.
Having gotten his start as a makeup artist for Hip Hop supergroup City Girls, and gained popularity on socials for the friendly banter between himself and Yung Miami, Santana’s popularity grew from social recognition and viral catchphrases to streaming numbers quickly when he released his first single, “Walk Em Like a Dog” in 2019.
The rapper claims the label’s respect for his vision and undeniable knack for creating social trends is a big reason he settled on RCA as the record label home for his first LP and beyond.
“That’s why I went with them. When it comes down to TikTok dances, it’s me. When it comes down to videos, I’m telling them how I want my videos. When it comes down to what songs are coming out, I was doing that,” he said. “When it comes down to writing my music –I was writing songs, top to bottom – I let them know that I need somebody that understands Santana, but wants to help elevate and push Santana to the forefront.”
Up next, a collaboration with fellow openly LGBTQ+ rapper Lil Nas X for what Santana describes as “a twerk song,” that we bet is sure to hit many a summer ’22 playlist.