Sammus
Sammus at the Haunt in Ithaca, New York, in 2015
Sammus at the Haunt in Ithaca, New York, in 2015
Background information
Birth nameEnongo Lumumba-Kasongo
Born (1986-03-20) March 20, 1986
Rhinebeck, New York
OriginIthaca, New York,
United States
GenresHip hop, nerdcore
Occupation(s)Rapper, songwriter, record producer, teacher
Years active2010–present
LabelsNu-Black Music Group, Don Giovanni Records
Websitesammusmusic.com

Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo (born March 20, 1986), known as Sammus (often stylized as SΔMMUS), is an American underground rapper, former teacher, and record producer.

Early life

Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo was born in Rhinebeck, NY to an Ivorian mother and Congolese father.[1] Patrice Lumumba, former Prime Minister of Congo, was her great uncle.[2] Her parents, both professors, moved her family to Ithaca, New York, at an early age, her mother teaching at Cornell University and her father at Wells College.[3]

She began producing music in highschool under the name DJ Eno,[4][5] first using the PlayStation program MTV Music Generator, and the digital audio workstation Reason to create beats.[3][6] When she was trying to pick a new name for herself, a friend recommended the name Samus, after the main character of the Metroid series of games, since both are women in male dominated genres.[3][4][5][6][7]

Education

Sammus received a BA degree from Cornell University in 2008, double majoring in Science and technology studies and Sociology.[8] She then worked full-time as teacher, in Houston, Texas, for Teach for America. Sammus then returned to Cornell in Fall 2011 to pursue an MA degree and doctorate in Science and Technology Studies, which she obtained in 2015 and 2019, respectively.[9][10][11]

In 2019, Sammus was awarded a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Music at the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University, focusing on the aesthetics and techniques of music of the African diaspora.[12] Currently, she serves as Mellon Gateway Postdoctoral Fellow and assistant professor in the Brown University Department of Music.[13][14]

Music

Sammus' influences started with her older brother Disashi (currently a member of Gym Class Heroes), who exposed her both to video games and alternative rock bands like Weezer and Nirvana.[3][5][7] In addition, Sammus has stated that she has been heavily influenced by Kanye West,[4] particularly his debut album The College Dropout:

It just hit me at the right time. I was about to go into college, and I think prior to that album dropping, I hadn't felt like I could have a voice in hip hop. What [was] represented were two sides of the spectrum: you had 'I have a lot of money, and I do a lot of cool things with my money'—hip hop that was on MTV—and then there was the super lyrical, very conscious, Mos Def, 'let's talk about the system.' And I didn't feel qualified to contribute to any of that discussion, because my problems were kind of like: 'uhh, I don't want to go to school...' And here was Kanye West talking specifically about 'I don't want to go to school!'

— Sammus, The Ithacast[3]

Sammus released her debut EP Fly Nerd in 2010. She followed up with the album M'Other Brain in 2012. After Mega Ran was exposed to Sammus' music, the two began collaborating.[4] In 2013, within a few hours of releasing her second album, Prime, it became the bestselling rap album on Bandcamp.[15] In December 2013, Sammus launched a Kickstarter campaign for her fourth album, a concept album based on Metroid. This album, Another M earned her fans of the nerdcore subgenre. In various interviews and social media, Sammus has clarified that she doesn't identify herself as a nerdcore rapper, and instead prefers the term "Afrofuturism" to refer to her video-game centered music because it requires an engagement with her Blackness.

Performances

Sammus has toured the U.S. with Mega Ran on the Rappers with Arm Cannons tour in 2015. She has performed at the SXSW Music Festival since 2015, the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX East) in 2015, Geek Girl Con in 2014 and 2015 with plans to return in 2016. She has also performed at the east coast's music and gaming festival, MAGFest, in 2015, 2016 and 2024.[16] In June 2017 she performed at McCarren park in Greenpoint Brooklyn as part of the Northside Festival.

Discography

  • 2010 - Fly Nerd (EP, self-released)
  • 2012 - M'Other Brain (NuBlack Music Group)
  • 2012 - Reset: Instrumentals (self-released)
  • 2013 - Prime (NuBlack Music Group)
  • 2013 - Nerdcore Instrumentals: Castlevania Edition (with DJ Cutman)
  • 2013 - Castlevania: The Nocturnal Cantata (Joypad Records)
  • 2014 - Another M (NuBlack Music Group)
  • 2014 - Nerdcore Instrumentals 2 (with DJ Cutman)
  • 2016 - InFusion (EP, NuBlack Music Group)
  • 2016 - Pieces in Space (Don Giovanni Records)

References

  1. ↑ Hassell, Kristine (December 9, 2013). "Creative Corner: SAMMUS". GeekGirlCon.
  2. ↑ "Happy Birthday Patrice Lumumba". 2 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 The Ithacast (May 6, 2015). "Meet 'Sammus', an Ithaca rapper with rising star power". The Ithaca Voice. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 shoom (June 17, 2014). "Episode 11 w/ Sammus". in the mix with shoom.
  5. 1 2 3 "No. 53 - Ladies Night Feat. Sammus & Girl Gone Geek". Fan Bros Show. June 5, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Mirk, Sarah (December 18, 2014). "Geek Girls". Popaganda. Bitch Media.
  7. 1 2 Stephens, Alexis (October 11, 2013). "Gee Whiz: Rapper/Producer Sammus Has Got Game". MTV Iggy. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Hey it's my birthday | also WTF is going on". YouTube. 20 Mar 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  9. ↑ DiPietro, Louis (February 11, 2014). "Revelation: Sammus". The Ithaca Times. p. 17.
  10. ↑ "enongo lumumba kasongo – rapper / producer / professor". Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ PhD Dissertation Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo: On the boundaries of multivalent musicking; a study on the politics of community-studios - website of the Cornell University Library
  12. ↑ "Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo to Join Brown University Department of Music and Cogut Institute for the Humanities as Postdoctoral Fellow for 2019-21". Brown University Department of Music. May 7, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Department of Music Faculty". Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  14. ↑ "enongo lumumba kasongo". enongo lumumba kasongo. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  15. ↑ Herimbi, Helen (August 2013). "She Got Game". AfriPOP!. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25.
  16. ↑ "REGISTRATION OPENS TODAY!". Super MAGFest. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
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