"You don't get a lot of second chances in the music industry," says Rowdy Records? recording artist Sammie, who exploded onto the scene at age 12 with the #1 hit single ?I Like It? igniting the resurgence of child artists. His impressive platinum debut album, From the Bottom to the Top (Freeworld/Capitol), helped rekindle the youth movement lighting the way for Bow Wow, Lil Romeo and other child stars to blaze up the charts. After a successful first chance and the conscious decision to put his music career on hold to experience high school, Sammie is back with his highly anticipated sophomore album, appropriately entitled Sammie.
"I want people to know that I?ve been blessed with the gift to sing," says the 18 year-old prodigy. "At 12 you?re cute. Most people were in awe because I was 12 and could sing. At 18 the market is different, there are a lot of young artists out now," explains Sammie, who is determined to make an impact with Sammie. "I feel that R&B has died a little bit and I?m here to resurrect it."
Resurrect he does, after reuniting with Grammy Award winning super producer Dallas Austin who executive produced both albums. ?I knew when he was 12 he was incredible and at 18 with time to marinate, he?s exceptional,? says Dallas recognizing Sammie?s growth and amazing vocal ability. ?He is all that I thought he would be plus more.?
He began touching people at the tender age of 4. ?Nobody knew I could sing,? says the Miami native, recalling his first performance of ?Troubles Don?t Last Always? in church. ?I used to watch my uncles and my family do it and wanted to get up there and try. After that day they called me up every Sunday to lead a song.?
But it was disruptive behavior in class and a teacher with a keen ear for music that set the path for Sammie?s success. ?I was humming during a test and the teacher asked ?do you want to share that with the class??? explains Sammie who thought he was in serious trouble. ?After I sang she sent me to the office where I was told to sing for the principal.? The administrators recognized Sammie?s gift and transferred him to Charles Drew Elementary, a magnet school with a performing arts program.
It was there that a music teacher recruited him to join a group with two older boys who eventually auditioned for the television program ?Showtime at the Apollo.? The show responded with interest in Sammie only who performed in 1998 on an ?Apollo Kids? segment. Ultimately making it to the finals in 1999, Sammie performed a breathtaking rendition of ?My Cherie Amour,? which led to a call from Atlanta based entertainment executive Joyce Irby.
?She flew to Florida, got me on camcorder singing, showed it to Dallas who told her ?don?t show it to anyone else, I?m going to sign him,?? remembers Sammie who spent that summer after his sixth grade year recording his first album.
In spite of his success, Sammie and his family made the decision for him to return to Florida and finish school. He moved to Orlando with his mother, younger brother and sister where he attended West Orange High School. It was there that he resumed a typical teenage life, playing on the basketball team, being crowned Homecoming King and making what he calls the best decision of his life, to join the choir. ?I knew passionately in my heart that music was where I was going to go, so I joined the choir at the end of my junior year,? he says. ?It taught me different techniques and gave me an appreciation for other genres of music.?
Sammie describes his second chance in the music industry as bitter sweet. Hurricane Francis caused his family to evacuate to Atlanta where he reconnected with Malcolm Lee of MEG Artist Management ? his current manager and one of the only entertainment contacts he kept in touch with during his high school years. Lee brought Sammie to a birthday party for Dallas Austin, who Sammie vividly recalls assured him as soon as he graduated he?d be taken care of. ?For four years you?re just the average kid,? says Sammie humbly, ?and in one split second you?re ?Sammie the artist? again.?
Even as ?Sammie the artist? he continues to stay grounded. With a strong belief in education, he plans to attend college and is working hard so he can afford his brother and sister the opportunity, too. ?I was raised God first, family second and all else will fall into place,? he says, ?I think if I keep that I?ll be alright.?
When he?s not making music, the self-proclaimed ?Madden champ? is dominating his friends in the popular football video game, or he?s playing his second love, basketball. But ultimately, it all comes back to music. ?Music never left me,? he says confidently,? you can?t hide what?s in you, no matter how hard you try.? For Sammie that?s the gift of song.
