Scarlett Santana (born Jasmine Mercedes on May 31, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, spoken word poet, dancer, and actress of Puerto Rican descent. She made her musical debut with the worldwide smash pop group C+C Music Factory. Scarlett Santana has released two singles with the group. The first being "Live Your Life", credited as C+C Music Factory presents Scarlett Santana, which was released in early 2010 on a Bill Coleman Remixxer compilation album. Scarlett Santana and C+C Music Factory then released a Top 10 Billboard smash, "Rain" to DJs in June 2011. "Rain" is currently supported by DJ Riddler, David Guetta, Robbie Rivera, StoneBridge and Dave Seaman, and was the No. 1 Breakout on the Billboard Dance Chart in October 2011.Santana has also become an accomplished co-director for her music videos, such as in "Rain", "Rain (Remix)", and "Live Your Life".
Early life
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey by a single mother of three, Scarlett Santana was first exposed to music at home and in kindergarten. Scarlett Santana remembers vividly a joyful day at home with her mother to whom Scarlett Santana credits for her influence in music, listening to all the classics from soft Ballads to Disco to Fania All Stars Salsa musicians to mention a few. Scarlett Santana also credits her Music teacher Ms. Ivy Wallace for helping her find her voice through music. Ms. Wallace saw something special in Scarlett Santana and thus helped to develop her singing, as well as plant the seed for what has grown to be a dynamic and compelling stage presence. By age 12, Scarlett Santana was writing her own songs and resolute in her desire to touch the world with her music. Several years later, now armed with self-penned tracks, she'd pound the pavement looking for studio time and securing gigs at Nuyorican Poet's Café for her spoken word ability and singing in New York and New Jersey's hottest club venues including Club New York, Avalon, China Club, Orchard Beach festival, and Tribeca where Scarlett Santana opened for an artist who would become instrumental in her career- legendary Freestyle singer George Lamond. He took Scarlett Santana under his wing and became her mentor. As of more recent, she has been honing her craft in acting under the mentorship of Hollywood actor Stu 'Large' Riley.
Music career
In her early adult years Scarlett Santana appeared on one of George Lamond’s albums, and being recognized for her talent, Scarlett Santana was soon commissioned to write a song for pop singer Radka, resulting in a song called "Hey Boy," a top 50 hit on the Billboard Dance Charts. Currently Scarlett Santana has George Lamond and Kulcha Don, an international Hip Hop/Reggae/Dance Hall artist featured on one of her songs "Live Your Life" the remix version, also produced by Robert Clivilles. Ever determined, Scarlett Santana continued to build her arsenal of music and spoken word poetry, anticipating the opportunity to share her words and experiences with audiences. As life would happen, George Lamond introduced Scarlett Santana to Robert Clivilles, an accomplished producer. Their collaboration resulted in Scarlett Santana's hit single, "Rain" – an inspirational song about the strong interpersonal relationships that hold you up through even the most trying times. Positivity is a common theme in Scarlett Santana's music as she hopes to inspire fans to believe that with perseverance, no goal is unattainable. And possessing such belief, Scarlett Santana crossed paths with Grammy nominated Producer & DJ Todd Terry during an NYC industry event in 2012 and thus resulted in their collaboration of "Attention". He is one of the artists and producers who helped to define New York's house music scene. ‘Todd the God’, they called him. Arguably he invented House music; certainly he defined it. Scarlett Santana is also collaborating with Duce Martinez, an accomplished Producer & DJ who has collaborated with the best in the industry and currently working on her next single.