Portland, Maine based hip-hop artist, Sontiago drops her first release in nearly five years. Sontiago’s 2007 sophomore album earned her a number six spot on the CMJ hip-hop charts, landed her on the pages of URB’s Next 100 and was named “your Ipod’s best friend,” in Bust Magazine.

After a US/Canadian tour with her last album, “Steel Yourself,” Sontiago returned home and ed her creative passions on working with youth in her community. Busying herself as a teaching artist with a local non-profit writing center, Sontiago has spent a significant amount of time leading songwriting and video workshops for area high school students. The results can be seen in a series of recently completed video shorts titled, “The Whole World Waiting.”

Returning to her own music, Sontiago was inspired by some influential collaborators. Lucky Me Records producer Ango first saw Sontiago perform in his hometown of Halifax. Years later, after relocating to Montreal, Ango connected with Endemik Music’s, Scott Da Ros, who encouraged the two to work together on a project. Ango had just returned from the Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona and was armed with energy and a thundering palette of beats.

Back in Portland, Maine, Sontiago was bartending at a local venue when a girl in a bluegrass band caught her eye. She was wearing a pair of sneakers that suggested she was more than a bassist in an all-girl folk ensemble. Indeed, she was. The two exchanged music the next day and Sontiago found out that Therese Workman was one half of Oh My Goodness, a brilliant duo that made songs infused with humour, pop, R&B, and a healthy dose of Cosby Show. From there it was on. The two pushed each other, wrote together, recorded together and sat together in the trenches as Anticon’s, Alias recorded and mixed their vocals.

"Muscle Car Maxi Single" is the kind of music that might cause groups of strangers to burst into spontaneous and elaborate dance numbers as it flows from the stereos of cars cruising the Saturday night strip. Sontiago is back. Life is good. It’s time to have a bit of fun. Without sacrificing her ability to make a point, Sontiago steers Muscle Car with a carefree abandon that is both infectious and exhilarating. On the b-side, Okay Okay’s anthemic beat and fierce determination is the perfect counterpoint to the title track – the moment when everyone suddenly realizes they’ve been caught up in unconscious choreography but shrugs off their inhibitions and keeps dancing anyway.