Sammy Adams

This article is about the American rapper Sammy Adams. For American composer Samuel Adams, see Samuel Adams (composer).

Samuel Adams Wisner (born August 14, 1987), better known as Sammy Adams, is an American rapper and songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts.

Early years

Adams has been musical for most of his life, playing piano since age 7. At age 11, he began to improvise with his piano playing, starting to create his own beats and melodies. He aspired to become a producer long before he ever considered becoming a rapper. Adams wrote small raps for himself through middle and high school, but did not formally start making music until college. Adams has stated in interviews that his musical influences have not come from just other rappers, but also from classic rock, rock, classical music, and blues.^[1] Adams prides himself on being able to cross genres, allowing him to get back to his musical roots and experiment with other kinds of music to supplement his "hip-pop". Adams started recording songs on his Macbook in 2008 from his college dormitory room.

Musical career

2010: Boston's Boy

Over the course of the next two years, he recorded a large amount of material. In September 2009, he released "I Hate College (Remix)", a remix of rapper Asher Roth's song "I Love College", on YouTube. The video has over 7.6 million views as of September 2013. He also released "Kimber", "Poker Face Remix", "Hard Shit", "Opening Day", and "Rollin", which have combined for over 2 million views as of September 2012. Opening day, plus his aboveground debut the Boston's Boy EP. The EP topped ITunes' hip-hop charts, driven by the success of "Driving Me Crazy"^[2] Adams first EP, Boston's Boy was released on March 4, 2010 by 1st Round Records and reached #73 on the Billboard 200 and reached #1 on iTunes. The album was received relatively well critically. The album was praised for its dance beats, catchy lyrics, and overall fun feel. Adams credits his loyal college fan base for the success of Boston's Boy. Having started out in the underground college scene, Adams knows his roots and knows who is buying his albums, and that it is not necessarily hardcore hip/hop enthusiasts. On July 13, 2010, four extra tracks were released by Adams to create a "deluxe" version of Boston's Boy. They were "Still I Rise", "See Me Now", "Fly Jets Over Boston", and "Just Sayin'". Two of the songs, "Still I Rise" and "Fly Jets Over Boston", featured special guests G. Curtis and Curren$y respectively. G. Curtis was a recent signing to the record label and Curren$y had been working with Adams for a while, but had yet to officially collaborate with him on a track.^[3][4]

Adams finished his second mixtape, Party Records Mixtape, in London and released it in September 2010. Also in September 2010, Adams was arrested during a show at Kansas State University. After having his noise permit revoked, Adams yelled "Fuck the Police!" and was subsequently handcuffed on stage as he tried to perform his hit "Driving Me Crazy".^[5]

2011-present: Signing with RCA and debut album

He performed at the music fesitval Lollapalooza in Chicago in August 2011. In late 2011, Adams signed with RCA Records of Sony. His next single, "Blow Up", tells about how he is back on the rise after the signing, following a stagnant period after his explosion onto the scene with Boston's Boy.

Adams released the singles, "Blow Up"^[6] "Summertime", as promotional singles in November 2011 and March 2012 respectively. He made his television debut on the late night talk show Conan with Conan O'Brien in January 2012 and performed his single "Blow Up". A third single, "Only One" was released in April 2012. "Only One" was Adams' first track to receive mainstream attention on the radio. Before then, he had been relegated to the college and online scene with few radio plays to speak of. Teen Vogue quickly named Adams one of five new "Artists To Watch"^[7] in 2012 with Artist Direct giving the single 4 of 5 stars.^[8] "Only One" was later included in AT&T's 2012 Summer Olympic Games commercial featuring Alex Morgan.^[9]

In August 1, 2012, EW reported that Adams is set to appear on as himself on CW's hit teen drama 90210. Adams released a new single titled, "All Night Longer" for digital download on August 21, 2012. In October 2012, he played himself in a German reality-show called: Berlin Day'n'Night (Berlin Tag und Nacht). In Fall 2012, Adams went on his "All Night Longer" tour.^[10] During April 2013 he went on tour with American rapper T. Mills.

On May 10, 2013, Adams' premiered the lead single from his debut album along with its music video. The song is titled "L.A. Story" and features American singer Mike Posner, while being produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder. The song was released to iTunes on May 28, and to Mainstream Top 40 radio on June 4, 2013.^[11] On September 18, 2013, Sammy took to his personal Twitter page to announce that his debut album, Homecoming was to be released in October. He later on announced that Homecoming will be released on November 19, 2013, and it was changed to a digital only EP.^[12]

Personal life

Born as Samuel Adams Wisner on August 14, 1987 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Kata Hull and Chuck Wisner. His parents moved him to Wayland, Massachusetts when he was in high school. Adams went to Beaver Country Day School before transferring to Wayland High School during his junior and senior years. Later, he went on to attend Hobart and William Smith Colleges for two years. He played varsity soccer for the Statesmen both years he attended Hobart. He scored 6 goals and had 4 assists in his two years with the Statesmen.^[13] He then transferred to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut where he majored in political science.^[14] Wisner played soccer for Trinity College and was named captain during his senior year.^[15] He was number seventeen on the Varsity soccer team.^[16] In his two years at Trinity, Wisner tallied 11 goals and 11 assists. He led the team in points in 2008, starting all 16 games for the Bantams.^[17] Wisner was also selected to the All-NESCAC team in 2008, earning First Team honors at Forward. He also supports Arsenal FC. During a charity concert in New Jersey on March 23, 2013, Adams fell sick during his performance and was taken to a nearby ambulance for treatment by paramedics.^[18]

Discography

EPs

Singles

Mixtapes

As featured artist

References