Matthew Santos is a two-time Grammy Nominated pop and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer-songwriter, musician and composer, also known as MA/SA.
Accessed January 2, 2008. He became well known for his collaboration with Chicago rapper

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...

on the single "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

". He was signed to Lupe Fiasco's

1st & 15th Entertainment Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his guest appearance on ...

record label, a subsidiary of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

Biography

Early years

Matthew Santos was born on December 28, 1982, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota. He graduated from Southwest High School in Minneapolis.Star Tribune interview (December 20, 2007)
Accessed January 8, 2008. He moved to Chicago in 2001 to study

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

.MetroMix and The RedEye interview
Accessed February 15, 2008.

Music career

Santos released his album '' Matters of the Bittersweet'' in November 2007, under indie label Candyrat Records. Following the release of the album, he developed a following surrounding his video performances on YouTube.Billboard Magazine interview (January 2, 2008)
Accessed January 5, 2008. Singersroom article (November 28, 2007)
Accessed January 9, 2008. His five-piece band includes Aviva Jaye (vocals, keyboard), Robert Tucker (drums), Graham Burris (bass), and Matthew Nelson (keyboard).
Accessed January 31, 2008.Chicago Flame interview
Accessed March 3, 2008. In 2006, Santos was featured on

's '' Food & Liquor'' album on the song "American Terrorist."Lansing Lowdown interview (December 5, 2007)
. Accessed January 8, 2008. Santos was featured on three additional tracks on Lupe Fiasco's '' The Cool'', released in December 2007; "

", "Streets On Fire", and "Fighters".Washington Times interview (January 25, 2008)
Accessed January 25, 2008, Santos joined Fiasco on his world tour in 2008, including appearances on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

'' and ''Spring Break'', ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'', ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'', ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...

'' and a debut talk show performance on

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...

's first live show after the 2007 Writers Guild of America Strike.Pitchfork Forkcast: Matthew Santos on David Letterman (January 3, 2007)
. Accessed January 9, 2008.Columbia Chronicle interview (January 30, 2008)
. Accessed January 30, 2008. In 2007, Santos opened the mtvU Woodie Awards with

and performed at the 2008 mtv's Video Music Awards.The Michigan Daily interview (December 7, 2007)
. Accessed January 8, 2008. In addition, Santos performed at

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, Bonnaroo Festival, the

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Vegoose Music Festival,

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

Chicago,

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

Summerfest Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...

, and Chicago's Around the Coyote Arts Festival. In 2009, Santos was featured on the single "Chaconne" by Twin Cities hip hop artist Dessa, a member of

Doomtree Doomtree is an American hip hop collective and record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The collective has seven members: Dessa, Cecil Otter, P.O.S, Sims, Mike Mictlan, Paper Tiger, and Lazerbeak. The collective is known for incorpora ...

, from her album '' A Badly Broken Code''. That summer, he was featured in Chicago magazine as one of the city's top singles.Chicago magazine's top singles: Matthew Santos (June 2009)
Accessed June 12, 2009. Seeking creative autonomy, Santos stepped away from the mainstream music scene to focus on his own artistic inclinations. In 2010, Santos released the album ''This Burning Ship of Fools''.On Matthew Santos and his new record "This Burning Ship of Fools" (March 2009)
Accessed March 29, 2010. In 2012, Santos released the album ''Quickly Disappearing''. He released three more studio albums and became the frontman of the electro-pop band MONAKR. The band's success led to a record deal with Embassy of Music and a publishing agreement with Songs Music Publishing (KOBALT). Their music was featured in the film "Love, Simon" and the TV show "Shades of Blue." In recent years, Santos collaborated with notable artists such as Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Jasmine Cephas-Jones, NGHTMRE, Eryn Allen Kane, and Saba Pivot. He also toured extensively with fellow Minneapolis artist Dessa across Europe, China, and North America, and has begun scoring for film, TV, and movie trailers. Santos's music has been featured in various shows and films, including "Games People Play," "Sacrifice," "LEGO Masters," "Claim to Fame," "Temptation Island," "The Chi," and "Berlin, I love You." Additionally, he contributed songs to the Netflix series "First Kill," including the singles "Lil' Drop," "Too Late, Too Little," and “Give My Life For You.” Santos recently composed music for the trailer of the award-winning Netflix movie, “Rustin”.

Discography

Albums

*''As a Crow Flies'' EP (2006) *''Matters of the Bittersweet'' (2007, CandyRat Records) *''This Burning Ship of Fools'' (2010, Love Sick Fool Records) *''Quickly Disappearing'' (2012, CandyRat Records) *''Into the Further'' (2015, CandyRat Records)

Singles

Featured singles

Guest appearances

References

External links

Interview with Matthew Santos on Centerstage Chicago

The Official Matthew Santos Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Matthew 1982 births American folk singers American rock singers Singers from Chicago Living people Musicians from Minneapolis Atlantic Records artists American musicians of Filipino descent American people of Spanish descent American people of Danish descent Singers from Minnesota 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers