Santa Sallet – ‘Plutography’ [Album Review]

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Rapper Santa Sallet closes out 2024 on a grand note with the release of his latest album, Plutography. The 16-track project is a culmination of his efforts as a musician. From releasing singles and testing the waters with different promo tactics to finding his niche audience now he is ready to show the world what he has cooked up. The project is self-produced and traverses a wide range of sounds that underpins his versatility as a musician and skill as a rapper.

The project starts with the bravado-driven “Championship Ring,” a sparse anthemic track that is filled with off-kilter rhyme schemes and non-sequitur couplets bolstered by Santa Sallet’s no-holds-barred style. Lines like “She just asked me if I could fuck her with my bling on/So I came in this bitch with my championship ring on.” The next two tracks “Bitch I’m Rich” and “Chinese Funk” continue in a similar vein with a blend of thumping soundscapes and boastful rhymes. The former uses a vocal sample with punchy drums while the latter has a catchy beat anchored on a Koto-sounding sample. Santa Sallet steps out on the opposition on the laidback “Doing It Well” and displays raw lyricism on the dark soundscapes on “I Get Money.”

The project benefits from the hard-hitting soundscapes and Santa Sallet’s expressive flows, which he has in abundance. Tracks like the playful “Just Another Tuesday” and “Fuck With Me (Run With Me)” are filled to the brim with this. Santa Sallet uses vivid word-play and vocal inflections to get his thoughts across, whether he is telling a story or throwing darts at the opposition. On “La Fama,” Santa Sallet taps into another skillset that blends hypnotic grooves, and horns with catchy hooks to seal the deal while “Dungeon Dragon” and “Ghost (Freestyle)” serve as additional outlets for his lyricism to shine through. He handles all of the vocal duties and the first feature is present on “Camouflage” Johnny B where both rappers take no shorts or losses as they make moves to secure the bag by any means necessary. Santa also flexes his verbal biceps on the naysayers with lines like “I’m riding around in that whip and that whip green like camouflage!/My Niggas gorilla they jungle they smoking that camouflage!/That ass is so fat man that bitch she can’t keep that shit camouflaged!/I’m covered in money you swear to God that I was camouflaged!”.

The project continues on a trajectory with back-to-back hard-hitting tracks. The brooding sounds on “Repete” are garnished with a French hook, “Listen (Stop)” and “Splash” featuring &amo both have retro-fitted hip-hop vibes with edgy bravado-raps that are pretty engaging from start to finish. The project closes out with another freestyle “Friday Freestyle” and the celebratory “Touchdown.” 2 worthy tracks that capture Santa Sallet’s stream-of-consciousness style and love for lyricism.

Overall Plutography sticks to familiar ground that focuses on raw lyrics, somewhat memorable hooks and thumping beats.