Gowhere Hip Hop is proud to present another exclusive interview – this time with R&B sensation: Sammie! Sammie took some time out last week, fresh out of the studio putting his finishing touches on his upcoming mixtape, Swag&B – dropping this week, to answer some questions about the interesting creative process behind his smash-hit with Soulja Boy “Kiss Me Thru The Phone”, his upcoming junior LP, Coming Of Age, and what it’s like growing up in the music industry as a child star. Enjoy!
GWHH: Jumpin’ right into it, my first question is about “Kiss Me Thru The Phone”. You’re back in the spotlight with this hit the past few months. Did you imagine when making the record that it would blow up as big as it did?
SAMMIE: Well, naw, I knew it was a special record. I knew it was definitely radio-friendly. These days music is so funny, you gotta really know what the fans are gonna like. But I thought that the concept of the song was definitely somethin’ that people would like. I can’t say though that I was surprised either, you know what I’m sayin’? I think that’s what we accomplished with the record; it was #1 in the country for 12 weeks. It was voted Viewer’s Choice Award on BET. There was so many different positives with the record and I was just happy to be a part of it. But I think we all go into the studio thinkin’ we’re gonna come out with a banger so mission accomplished on that one.
GWHH: Awesome, yeah definitely. And I was wondering if you could elaborate on the creative process that you and Soulja Boy came up with for that single? For example, did you come at him with the hook or did he come at you..?
SAMMIE: Oh no, I’ve seen him at a video shoot and this was the last song he recorded for the album, which is crazy. He came to me and saw me at a video shoot and said, I got this record that I think you’ll be perfect on. I came to the studio and knocked it out in like fifteen minutes. As far as the concept, it was already pretty much laid down for me; I just had to do my Sammie thang on it and the rest is history so I can’t even take credit for the concept. It was all pretty much done when I got there.
GWHH: I see, alright, that’s pretty sweet. But yeah, lookin’ ahead for you personally, you got your junior LP coming to stores later this year called Coming Of Age. And I have a feeling that title is gonna be indicative of some of your goals and concepts of the album so could you discuss that a little bit?
SAMMIE: Yeah, well you know, every time, if you’ve been followin’ the Sammie story, I’ve came out with an LP or album, I’ve been an entirely different person. I first came on the scene when I was 12 years old, had my two year run, stopped and went back to school. And I returned back when I was 18. Now I’m 22. And it’s kind of like you’ve been watching the evolution of Sammie. You got to actually watch me grow up in the stages of my life, not just personally but on an artistic level, me being an artist and me being in the spotlight since I was twelve years of age. So I feel like this album is where I grow into myself and piece together the puzzle. Being that I did take a four year absence in the industry world, I want to make this album, bring the Sammie story to life and make it make sense to my new fans and the fans from day one. I took my vocals to a whole ‘nother level and then I co-wrote my whole album to really express my thoughts on paper and really give people a feeling of who I am.
GWHH: Nice, that’s exciting to hear! So what sort of collaborations and producers do you have lined up for the album?
SAMMIE: Man, I’ve worked with the CornaBoyz, Street Love of course. I’ve worked with Deron Jones of 112, I’ve worked with Crown World, I’ve worked with Adonis. As far as features, I got Cassidy, I got Yung Joc, and I got Soulja Boy in there. I don’t want to say the last feature because it’s so different and I don’t think people will expect me to have it. I don’t want to do too many features but we’re gonna have four features locked in on the album. Everybody know I like to give all the fans a lot of Sammie; I like to keep it on me but I went for the people who I feel are underrated. I think Cassidy is underrated, Joc is underrated. I even think as big of a superstar that Soulja Boy is, I think he is underrated in the public eye to some degree. I went for those people for my album.
GWHH: Yeah, I think with that amount of features, that’s like the perfect balance that spotlights you on stuff and gives fans some variety with interesting collaborations so that’s good to hear. I know you kind of alluded to it already, growing up in the industry since you were 12. And it’s really interesting and rare to see someone blow up at the age of 12 and continue to have longevity in the game like you do, so I was wondering if you could talk about some of the pressures of the music industry you had to deal with while growing up.
SAMMIE: Well, I grew up fast in the industry. The thing with the industry is to not put yourself in a position to be taken advantage. You have to kind of become business saavy and do your homework and actually make people respect you. Because they have a tendancy to undermine you because you’re young. I’m 22, and there’s still times when people might not take me seriously when I voice my opinion, simply because I’m 22. So in that aspect, you kind of have to develop really tough skin and be able to take criticism, but also have a great work ethic. I don’t want to be one of these stars that was seen today and gone tomorrow. So for me with this 3rd album, and technically 10 years in the game, I’m kind of a young veteran in a sense. It’s a blessing but the main reason why I took that break was to have a sense of normalcy. Because you can let those pressures of the industry and being a child star get to you. I always want to seen as being humble, as being grounded, and be personable and then be a real human being. So I kind of have to balance my normal life and my star life and make them mesh together. So you know, so far so good.
GWHH: Nice and that was great advice for some of the aspiring artists out there reading as well. And lastly, where can our readers follow you more closely?
SAMMIE: Aw man, I’m on Twitter like 24/7. It’s @princesammie. PrinceSammie.com. My MySpace is myspace.com/sammieforever. You can call me at 404.890.7182. That’s my way of really talkin’ to my fans on a daily basis. I’m really on Twitter real heavy so make sure you follow me and I’ll keep you posted with more upcoming music. Sometimes I leak songs out to let people hear the direction where I’m going so make sure you Twitter me @princesammie!
Thx for the re-post!!
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