May 19, 2008 16:02

Santogold dubs 'hip-hop' comparisons racist

Singer not amused by genre classification

Santogold has slammed those who term her music 'hip-hop' as "racist".

The hotly-tipped singer was reacting against continual classification of her self-titled album as 'hip-hop', 'rap' or 'R&B', especially on online retail sites.

Speaking to The Lipster, the singer said: "It's racist. It's totally racist. Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off.

"I didn't grow up as a big fan of R&B and, like, what is the big shocker? It's stupid. In the beginning I thought that was funny. I'm an 'MC', I'm a 'soul singer', I'm a 'dance hybrid artist'. And some guy said I looked like Kelly Rowland!"

Santogold claims her album is "a pop record", saying: "I made sure it was."

Ironically, it's likely Santogold's record label Warners is responsible for supplying genre information.