As you pursue this longevity, is there a certain pace that you try to maintain, so that you don't "burn out," or do you just go with the flow?
I try. I'm not saying I try to keep a pace, but you never know what kind of cards you're dealt. So you'll have some setbacks, whether it's on the business end or on the personal end or you're getting the label to move and you don't get it. It's kind of like you do have a plan but it doesn't always go the way you want it to go.
In a sense, it's kind of like you do a little bit of both. You have a plan and you have a format and a structure but in the same sentence, you kind of take it how it turns, too. You never know. I try to stay structured as possible but, like I said, in my career I've been dealt with a lot of setbacks that kind of put it in pause or hold. Therefore, I just roll with the punches.
In a recent press release concerning your forthcoming album, Coming of Age, you stated that you felt that you were coming into your own for the first time. I really liked your last album, Sammie, so what key differences do you see between your sophomore set and Coming of Age? Where does your sophomore album stand, in terms of your personal growth and development?
On my sophomore album, we had to play it safe. That was my first project out of my four year hiatus. Although I was 18 turning 19, I couldn't really talk about certain things that maybe Chris Brown could get away talking at that time just because I was looked at, to some degree, as little Sammie when I was 12, 13, 14. That just comes with the territory of being a star since you were a young boy.
I felt it was a good re-introduction. It helped me grow. It was a mature record that didn't just reach the young kids but older people liked the record as well. It was that bridge for me to evolve into the young man that I am today. For this album, from the artwork that's going to be done, the photo shoots, to what I want to talk about, I just have so much freedom that I never really had on my first project, of course, and even my second. I just feel comfortable with who I am and what I want to talk about.
Article comments
1 - Nowthebiz
Mr. Perry, this interview is incorrect, Sammie is currently signed to Empire Entertainment an Atlanta based Label, he may have started his own company, but it was clearly in 2009. Sammie is tring to get a release out of his current contract, his claim to be releasing an album is just that. I have followed his very short career from the beginning & would like the truth to be printed, Sammie being Un loyal to his fans for not telling the truth & to his Recording company that has supported him from his 5year break. Sammie is a has been & the only reason you are even talking to him is because of Soujia Boy's song.
2 - Miss M.
Great interview, Mr. Perry. I gave two different opinions about young Sammie and his plans to "come back"- I was impressed to hear him talk intelligently and coherently about his childhood, transitioning in the industry, and his plans to be the number on db artist out there. I worry though that like some other artists, he just doesn't have that 'it' factor right now. I mean, he's cute enough, his voice is nice enough, his swag is pretty generic... I want him to grow up a little more and do some self discovery. At 22, I didn't know who I was and at 25, I still don't. So all I'm saying is, before he starts referring to himself in the third person and owning labels, I really want him to get his feet firmly planted, get some well produced, well written, appropriately marketed track and a unique selling point that is truly his, and then he'll be ready. I love to see a young black man being positive and trying to make it... I want Sammie to do well and I think that if he's careful and meticulous and really works on his craft like he says he wants to, people will support him and really help him become to superstar he wants to be. Good luck, my Brotha!