Rick Ross can probably be forgiven for not knowing who Saucy Santana is. After all, the fast-rising rap newcomer’s largest audience remains on TikTok, where Saucy’s song “Material Girl” has completely taken over, appearing in well over 27 million views since its release in 2020. However, Ric — who is no stranger to making the jump from underground sensation to mainstream superstar — isn’t surprised by Santana’s success and says hip-hop undoubtedly has space for more queer artists to make similar leaps.
Ross learned about Saucy Santana — a fellow native of Miami — during an interview with YouTube gossip vlogger Funky Dineva, who asked for his take on gay rappers coming into the rap game. “I’m not familiar with the name Santana, but live your life, chase your dreams, and go hard, man,” Ross replies smoothly, meeting Dineva’s follow-up question — “Do you think hip-hop will ever embrace the LGBT community fully?” — with an equally unfazed response. “I believe hip-hop has already embraced it. Without a doubt.”
“Material Girl” isn’t the only Saucy Santana song fans have received warmly, nor is Rick Ross the first rapper to co-sign the burgeoning star. His 2020 single, “Walk,” is also a viral favorite on TikTok, with 516 million views on the #WalkChallenge and related hashtags. Santana has worked with LightSkinKeisha on “Back It Up,” Sukihana on “Food Stamp H*e,” Latto on “Up & Down,” and “Shisha” with City Girls, for whom he once worked as a makeup artist. His debut album, Keep It Playa, dropped in December of 2021.
As far as Rick Ross’ claim that hip-hop has embraced queer artists goes, he might be a little optimistic in that respect. Last year, Lil Nas X had one of the best-performing debut albums in recent memory but still had to field homophobic comments from rappers like Boosie and fans who questioned him for not working with any other Black men on the album, something he pointed out had more to do with those he asked than with his own preferences.
Source: https://uproxx.com/music/rick-ross-lgbtq-artists/