Rashad Jamiyl Spain (born October 8, 1993), known professionally as Saucy Santana, is an American rapper and songwriter who began his career as a

makeup artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

for the hip hop duo City Girls, and soon after embarked on a recording career in February 2019 with his debut single "Walk Em Like A Dog". Meanwhile, he became a recurring guest on the reality television franchise '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami''. In 2021, Santana gained further prominence when his singles "Walk" and "Here We Go" spawned viral challenges on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. That same year, he released the song "Material Girl," and later released the song's remix " Material Gworrllllllll!" with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Early life

Santana was born to Adrienne Spain on October 8, 1993. He grew up in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, before moving to Florida when he was 10 years old. Santana is of Afro-Dominican descent through his grandmother. He started his career in the music industry by working as a makeup artist for City Girls, and started rapping in February 2019 when he created a theme song for the podcast that he hosted with his friends at the time.

Career

Santana uploaded his debut single "Walk 'Em Like a Dog" to the audio distribution platform

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

in August 2019. This release was followed by his debut EP, ''Dog Walkers'', in September 2019, and then the mixtape ''Imma Celebrity'' in January 2020. Santana featured as a recurring guest on the third season of the reality television franchise '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami'', which aired on VH1 from January 6, 2020, to April 6, 2020. In July 2020, Santana released his second mixtape ''Pretty Little Gangsta'', bolstered by the singles "Up & Down" featuring American rapper

Latto Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), known professionally as Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter from Atlanta. She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series ''The Rap G ...

, and "Back It Up" featuring American rapper LightSkinKeisha. Santana featured on American rapper Sukihana's single "Food Stamp Hoe" in August 2021. His 2020 single "Walk" went viral in 2021 after being used for the popular

#WalkChallenge, and earned him a cosign from rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. His singles "Here We Go" and "Material Girl" also gained prominence on the platform throughout the year; the latter of which received a cosign from

, who performed a medley of both her song "Material Girl" and Santana's "Material Girl" with him at NYC Pride in 2022. They would later release the version they performed as a single, entitled "Material Gworrllllllll!" His debut studio album ''Keep It Playa'' was released on December 16, 2021, and featured the single "Shisha", his first collaboration with City Girls, with whom he originally began his career as a

. In August 2022, Santana made his debut on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', performing "Booty". Santana also performed "Booty" at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards "Pre-Show". In January 2024, Santana joined the cast of the reality television show, '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' during the second half of the eleventh season, in a supporting role. He was promoted to the main cast for the twelfth season.

Artistry

Santana has cited

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

Trina Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...

, and Tampa Tony as influences.

Filmography

Personal life

Santana came out as gay at age 17. On December 11, 2019, Santana and two others were shot in a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrators to quickly strike their targets and flee the scene before l ...

in Miami. Santana, who was hospitalized for his injuries, stated that he believes the shooting was motivated by

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

. He said of the shooting, "I got shot in the top of my shoulder, you was icaiming at my face or at my head, that's an instant kill." This incident inspired him to write the song "You Can't Kill Me".

Selected discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

Results

References

{{Reflist 1993 births 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American male rappers 21st-century American rappers African-American LGBTQ people African-American rappers American gay musicians American LGBTQ rappers American shooting survivors Gay rappers LGBTQ people from Florida Living people Musicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut Participants in American reality television series People from Perry, Florida Rappers from Connecticut Rappers from Florida