ZingW

If you're chronically online, into rap and just know the vibes you've probably uttered the following phrases A LOT in the past few years: 'gworl,' 'material gworl,' 'Caresha, please!' and 'walk him like a dog'. These are just some of the many gifts that rapper Saucy Santana has given the culture.

Santana got his start dabbling at remix challenges on social media before he decided to record his first song. "Walk Him Like A Dog," spit into the end of an iPhone in a friend's closet, ended up doing a million plays in a week. It was clear the City Girls' makeup artist was as natural an entertainer on the internet and on the stage as he is IRL. And he's more than just savvy with the Twitter fingers and beauty blenders: Santana really has bars, booty and a bold personality.

But the qualities that make Santana a unique addition to rap have been the same ones the industry has tried to box him in with. Reflecting on early conversations with key players at label meetings, he recalled: "People was like, 'Can we sell him? He's feminine. He's dark-skinned, he's thick, he's gay, he's loud. Can we sell that? Will people buy into it? Did he just have a viral song?'"

In this episode, we get bougie with the material gworl himself and track Saucy Santana's rise in the industry. We explore how the collision of TikTok and hip-hop has ushered in a new era of visibility in rap for the most marginalized, and dissect how the double-edged sword of virality is that much more sharp for queer rappers. We chat with hip-hop scholar and professor Shanté Paradigm Smalls about the evolution of queer aesthetics in hip-hop, as well as Santana's best friend, the hairstylist Mitch Copeland, who witnessed his friend's rise from glam girlie to the stars to a star in his own right. And we ask: How can queer rappers leverage viral visibility into lasting success?

To follow along with the music in this episode, check out the Louder Than A Riot playlists on Apple Music & Spotify. We'll update them every week.

To connect with us, follow the show on Twitter @LouderThanARiot, or send us an email at louder@npr.org.

Audio story produced by Gabby Bulgarelli

Audio story edited by Soraya Shockley

Audio story engineered by Gilly Moon

Podcast theme and original music by Suzi Analogue and Kassa Overall

Fact-checking by Will Chase

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7zRZ6arn19nfXN%2FjmlsaGhiZH5yg5JuaXFrZmd8tMDAsmSipl2uvLa%2BjKWYp51dqLWiw9OyZKyZpZjGbr%2FAp6uappE%3D