When you hear the name Sammie, you probably think of that aborable little kid with the wide smile singing the upbeat track “I Like It.”
The R&B singer burst on the scene in the year 2000 at the tender age of 12 with two top 10 singles “I Like It” and “Crazy Things I Do For Love.” At 13, his album From The Bottom To The Top went gold.
Now 26, little Sammie is not so little anymore. After a hiatus and a label switch, he’s all grown up and ready to step back into the limelight as an independent artist under his own label, Star Camp Ent.
In addition to working on an EP and an album, he’s adding songwriting for other artists to his repertoire. He most recently penned the Tank single “Next Breath,” nominated for an SESAC award, and is set to write songs for artists like Robin Thicke, Jacob Lattimore, and Christina Milian.
In light of the untimely death of Chris Kelly of Kris Kross, theGrio asked Sammie to share a bit of his advice to child stars. Sammie also opens up to us about what he’s been up to over the years, the impact of being a child star, and even some of the crazy things he’s done for love.
theGrio: Congratulations on the SESAC nomination, how does it feel?
Sammie: I’m excited for the opportunity. We wrote an amazing record last year for Tank and it did very well for him, so I’m just excited and ecstatic to be a part of it.
Have you been doing a lot of song writing lately?
Yea actually I am going to the studio this weekend to pen a few things for Jacob Latimore’s next project. I have the opportunity to write for Robin Thicke’s album currently and Christina Milian. Those are like my top priority lists currently. So I’m excited that I’m able to expand outside of just being an artist and performer into the song-writing avenue.
How long have you been writing for other artists now?
Tank last year was my first placement outside of myself. But I’ve written all of my material from my second album up until today. So when the Tank record took off that actually put me in a different mindset that I could actually tap into someone else’s world and convey the same emotions that they’re trying to. This is actually me stepping out into something new. I always wanted to be multifaceted as far as being a songwriter and singer. I never wanted to be one-dimensional. I wanted to take my talents and expand them as far as I could.
What are you doing to rebuild and revamp your brand and career?
Unfortunately I feel like the music industry is on the decline right now. Specifically speaking in the R&B genre. So I signed myself to myself in 2009. Star Camp music is the entity. I’m not saying I’m opposed or wouldn’t go back to a major, but I just want to be in control and have my own sound and develop my own buzz going solo with me and my camp as opposed to signing to a major and them telling me who to be. I’ve been in the business long enough, I have a fan base and they love me and embrace me for who I am. That’s the sole reason and sole purpose for me starting my own foundation.
Currently working this record entitled Put It In featuring my homie Blake Kelly. We just shot the video in LA. [It’s going to be on] MTV Jams and BET next month, so I’m excited about that. This is all indie, so we’re moving major, and making major moves but it’s an indie situation. I love to be hands on with my business. I can take the blame for anything that goes good or bad, I can deal with that as opposed to it being somebody else’s fault.
You first became known at age of 12 with the top 10 single “I Like It” but after that you took a bit of a break. The question on everyone’s minds when they hear Sammie is ‘where has he been?’ Is it a struggle to step out from the shadows of your younger self?
It’s not tough at all. I think because of that reason, I haven’t been out consistently or frequently like most artists you see. So my first time out was the ages of 12 through 15, that’s “I Like It,” “Crazy Things I Do For Love” and “Hardball.” So that was from the years of ‘99 to 2001. My first “hiatus” was just to go back to school and have a sense of normalcy. My life changed substantially after I went platinum after the age of 13. I am 26 now and I never wanted to look back on my childhood just to realize I didn’t have a childhood. That was the reason I “disappeared” the first time.
Then after my sophomore project, “Kiss Me Through the Phone,” “You Should Be My Girl,” “Come With Me,” all successful mainstream records I went through a label change. I just felt, if I was going to be indie, then let me be indie and if I was going to be major then let me be major. That’s when I started my own company in ‘09, took time to build a camp, build a team, find myself, find my sound, like I said Insomnia is that first effort. I understand the disconnect and why people kind of relate and go back to little Sammie, but I am well beyond those years.
Did that break help or hurt your career?
I guess its pros and cons to both sides. Like you said, there’s a disconnect where I am 26 years young now and people still assume that Sammie is still this little kid, but I have grown man bills and grown man issues just like the next person. So I think that would be the negative of it but the positive is that it gave me time to really grow up. So the material that I sing and the content is believable because you didn’t watch me grow up.
I know a lot of artists around my age bracket that never left the public eye and it’s hard to take them seriously as the 25/26 year-olds that they are because you’ve watched them grow up. For me every time I pop back on television I’m this different dude, so it’s like you accept me for what you see opposed to you formulating your own opinion and keeping me in this cubicle. It has its negatives and positives but it’s more good than bad, if I would say so myself.
In the early 2000’s, it’s safe to say you were probably every girl’s first crush, so what was it really like for you in high school trying to be a normal kid?
High school was nuts, I won’t lie. My life in high school was bitter sweet. I had all these girls going crazy. I used to get escorted to class with high school security. I remember the first day of school the principal and the teachers didn’t know what was going on, so they pulled me in the office and they were like who are you? So I had to explain my situation. I didn’t go to a private school; I was going to a public school. And of course, with girls comes the haters and the guys didn’t like that I was taking the girls. So it was a little crazy.
By my junior year they got to understand I was just a student trying to get my education and create some of these relationships that’s everlasting until this day. The only time I experienced craziness after that is – I played basketball for two years, so when I would go to the opposing school campus it was like Michael Jordan was coming to town, and I wasn’t even a star basketball player that’s the crazy part.
I got to experience certain things my industry peers missed out on I was homecoming king, played basketball two years, I was in the choir. Those experiences and moments I will forever cherish. I am very grateful that I was able to have the best of worlds, the fame as well as some normalcy.
You’ve seen a lot of child stars sort of follow in your footsteps, after you it was the B2K and Bow Wow era, and now there’s a bunch of other new child stars like Mindless Behavior to give an example. What’s your advice to current child singers?
To start to define [right now] who they want to be for years to come. I mentioned at the end of this week I am going to write some records for Jacob Latimore’s project. He’s 17 but he’s been around since 13/14 and I got to watch him grow. So it’s pretty dope to be able to work with him because I can relate to what he’s trying to get to. Being a child star isn’t an easy accomplishment in itself but once you establish yourself as a child star the next thing you have to start thinking about is okay how am I going to get out of that.
It’s not easy to grow up in this industry. So you can do that with the content. You don’t have to force it. It’s just trying to get them to look past the now. So if you’re 12, 13 14, leave room for growth in your content and your music to do a project when you’re 17/18 and it still be interesting and keeping the people intrigued. It’s all about evolving. If you don’t evolve you will eventually evaporate. Don’t just do records for the now, think about the career and longevity.
Before you came on the scene, there wasn’t really another mainstream artist out that was as young as you were. Before you, the only other young people that come to mind is Kris Kross. You live in Atlanta now too, so when the news came out about Kris Kross member Chris Kelly’s death – what was your reaction? Did you know him?
I [didn’t] know him personally but of course I know of him and his work and his mark that Kris Kross and the whole So So Def family made in that era. I was just thinking man another one. When I say another one I mean another artist, gone too soon, and if I’m not mistaken, if I have my facts straight, I want to say it was substance abuse. I just hate to see artists go out that way. A lot of people turn to those type of outlets to escape reality. That goes back to like I said a piece of mind and knowing God and knowing that beyond the fame and beyond the money, life is more important. You only get one. You can have all the money in the bank, if you die its gone. The millions will be just scattered out amongst family or friends or whoever you have in your will.
So when I saw the news I was just more so like ‘its another one that chose the wrong way, made one bad decision and it affected his life, literally.’ My condolences goes out to the fam, and the So So Def family and like I said Kris Kross to me are young legends. What they did was unheard of. My heart goes out to that whole situation.
For the latest on Sammie follow him on twitter at @PrinceSammie and check his latest music on princesammie.com.
Rhonesha Byng is a Brooklyn based writer. Follow her on twitter at @NeshasAgenda.