A Superstar Flies Solo: The Matthew Santos Interview

Musician Matthew Santos stopped by the Free Radio SAIC station to give a live interview about his views on the music industry, the business of art, and personal lessons he has learned through his experiences. Famous for his highly acclaimed music collaborations with rapper Lupe Fiasco, Santos is now taking big steps in making music that he loves.

Quintin: What and when was your first musical performance?

Matthew Santos: I believe my first performance was when I was 16 probably at a coffee shop or something like that or an in school performance. I even did a concert in my backyard with neighbors and friends. We charged a dollar for admission. I had a nice little deck set up with amps to terrorize the neighborhood.

Q: What was your favorite performance so far?

M: That’s hard to say but I would have to say that my favorite one was rocking with Lupe at the Target Center of Minneapolis, my hometown. I used to see all these little kiddy shows there like Disney on ice when I was a kid. It was just crazy being there, performing on that stage in front of 12,000 people. That was pretty amazing. And there have been some great shows with my manager in Chicago played in the Metro once last year, and that was a pretty incredible show.

Q: I know you perform with a band is it the same group of people or do you have to change members?

M: One of our important members of the band, Viva Jay, a back-up singer and beautiful vocalist, recently moved to New York to pursue other interests. So, hopefully she’ll still be playing with us.

Q: How to get your life settled and pulled together, how do you hire your band members and others?

M: Well, a lot of people have been a part of the project since the beginning. There has never been a lot of money to hire people to do these things, so a lot of people are just working out of passion, and out of love for the project, to see its growth and success. We are working towards a situation where we can be self-sustained and actually work as a legit music company. You find people who love the project and have faith in it. It is a blessing to find people to help in different areas. For the band, it was easy. Everyone fell into my lap. I met everyone through someone, another friend, and we just gelled together.

Q: So networking?

M: Yeah networking. You put out a vibe and the universe responds to it and gives you what you need. And that is a proven fact.

Q: Superstar was nominated for a Grammy. What is like to be a part of the Grammy hype? What was going through your head during that whole process?

M: Oh man, I had just bought these new shoes, honesty, and they were killing my feet. I don’t know how you women wear these high heels. Not, that I was wearing high heels, but it made me feel like I was.
It was pretty incredible. I had great seats. Lupe and I were sitting next to M.I.A who was pretty much giving birth at the time. I got to meet Tony York from Radiohead and John Mayer came over to say “What’s Up.” It was a night full of pop rock stars. It was cool. I got to see Paul McCartney play.

Q: Did you write anything or practice a speech just in case you won?

M: No. Even if Lupe and I did win that Grammy, I am pretty sure it would be just Lupe talking and I would be standing there next to him smiling. I have mixed feelings about the whole Superstar thing. It was a blessing because it got the name out there to millions of people. People in countries I haven’t even heard of have hit me up on MySpace so it’s crazy but at the same time it’s not really like the music that I make. So with this whole success thing I always felt that I always along for the ride. I didn’t feel like it was my success. It was more Lupe’s success and I was more kind of accenting his success.

Q: Does this mean that you are trying harder to get your stuff out now? I know that your sound is different from what you have done with Lupe, so are you trying to make sure you keep those fans?

M: That’s a tricky subject. I think a lot of Lupe fans are just music lovers in general. Music lovers are not just of one genre, they love everything from Bjork to Billy Holliday and that is where I am coming from because that is the kind of music that I love. I am making the music that I love and it happens to expand over many genres. Some of Lupe’s fans might like some of my songs; some of them might not like some of my songs. That’s fine. You just have to do what you love.

Q: You have a new CD that is about to come out. How is it different from anything you have produced so far?

M: It’s really different. Before my music was much more down tempo. And I did a live acoustic album in 2007. This is something I have never done before which is try to create more upbeat poppy music. At the time that this album was conceived, which was last summer actually, we were being pitched to a lot of major labels. I was trying to create songs that were still me but had major label appeal so they would be interested in pushing it and working with me. I tried to make good pop music, which is difficult for me because I am not really a pop musician.

Q: How would you define pop music? Is it about being popular or catchy?

M: Well, catchy stuff you hear on the radio. The song On the Radio is actually about pop music, the omega radio hits. The music tends to be more flat than round, I should say.

Q: So you don’t want to fix yourself to a genre, but if you did have to how would describe it?

M: I’m kind of working in a fusion of soul, funk and rock n roll. We experiment with all sorts of production. Even though it’s soulful rock there is a little bit of hip-hop production and electronica. We are pulling from all sorts of genres and pools.

Q: When you are working on your own stuff what keeps your drive going?

M: That changes but ultimately it is about staying on your creative edge, making sure that you are making art that is to the best of your ability and trying to always strive for your greatest potential as an artist.

Q: Often, artists get offers to do major things that they may not necessarily agree with. There is always this question of when you are about to sell out. What is your definition of selling out?

M: My definition of selling out is when you have a corporate sponsor come and say, “Hey, will you endorse our product.” Another person may say that selling out is making commercial music for mainstream success. The whole Disney “Hannah Montana” and “Jonas Brothers” movement is a very clear picture of pop music today. When you become a commercial artist, some people say you sell out, but no one knows what it is like until you are faced with that decision. I felt like I was almost selling out when I said yes to do Superstar with Lupe.

Q: Really?

M: Yeah. Even though he is an up-and-coming hip-hop artist, and sort of a conscience artist that is considered mainstream, the definition is a thin line. It is hard to say, but you know you are selling out when you are making music that you don’t love for the purpose of making money.

Q: What is the effect that you want to have on people?

M: I just want to get people feeling something. If you have a song or a piece of art that brings someone into themselves in a reflective nature and makes them feel something, whatever that may be, it is a human experience. Art is the human experience and it really embodies that. We all have our own little gifts, however subtle. Not everyone can be a Picasso, but we all have something offer the planet, to the world, and the culture at large. My songs are about taking responsibility for that.

To listen to the unedited version of this interview, check out this podcast episode entitled “Getting Your Hustle On.”