Samm Henshaw

Samm Henshaw, an English singer and songwriter working in R&B, attracted major-label interest and support from artists including James Bay and Chance the Rapper through his commanding vocals and warm, retro-soul aesthetic. After issuing a pair of EPs across 2015 and 2016, he reached wider audiences via the uplifting single “Church” in 2019 and the buoyant “Chicken Wings” in 2021. His debut album, Untidy Soul, arrived in 2022 and leaned further into American traditions by fusing hip-hop, gospel, and jazzy R&B. Additional joint releases followed, among them “Barcelona” with Kota the Friend in 2023 and “Serena” alongside Adi Oasis in 2024.

Born Iniabasi Samuel Henshaw in London to Nigerian parents as a first-generation resident, Henshaw grew up in a household where no one else played instruments yet began developing his abilities inside the church led by his father, the pastor. He later enrolled at Solent University in Southampton to study popular music and secured a publishing agreement with BMG during his final year. Columbia signed him by 2015, and he introduced himself that same year with The Sound Experiment EP. Both Chance the Rapper and James Bay selected him as a tour opener; afterward he returned to the studio for the 2016 sequel EP, The Sound Experiment 2. In 2018 he released three singles, among them “Broke” and the harder-edged, beat-driven “How Does It Feel.” Momentum built in 2019 with the infectious, gospel-tinged “Church,” which included American hip-hop duo EarthGang, followed later that year by the gritty soul track “The World Is Mine.” He partnered with production duo Brasstracks on the uplifting “Change for Me” in 2020, then delivered further singles in 2021 such as “Still Broke” featuring Keyon Harrold and the catchy “Chicken Wings,” both of which appeared on Untidy Soul. Subsequent guest spots included Smoko Ono’s “Pull Up” and Kota the Friend’s “Barcelona,” before Henshaw offered his own Afro-fusion single “Jomoke” toward the end of 2023. Early in 2024 he joined Adi Oasis for the retro-soul number “Serena.”