Sammie

Contemporary R&B performer Sammie first reached commercial heights in 1999 while still a pre-teen, stepped away almost immediately, reappeared after several years, withdrew once more, and then returned throughout the 2010s. Music surrounded Sammie Leigh Bush, Jr. before birth because his mother, a onetime professional singer, sang in the church choir while pregnant. At age four the Florida native earned a standing ovation in that same setting for delivering “Troubles Don’t Last Always.” A short time later he assembled the vocal group Wonder 3; an audition for Showtime at the Apollo produced a solo slot and a winning finals performance. Shortly afterward Joyce Irby, formerly of Klymaxx, became his manager and linked the young artist with longtime associate Dallas Austin, who placed him on the Capitol subsidiary Freeworld Entertainment.

Austin produced the debut single “I Like It,” a fusion of throwback electro and current pop-R&B. It debuted on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart in December 1999, rose to number eight, and reached number 24 on the Hot 100. The accompanying album From the Bottom to the Top arrived in 2000 and contained the charting ballad “Crazy Things I Do.” A long absence that included time devoted to school ended in 2006 with Sammie’s self-titled second album. Released on Austin’s reactivated Rowdy label under Motown support, the project yielded minor hits “You Should Be My Girl” and “Come with Me.” Sammie was featured on Soulja Boy Tell Em’s Top Five R&B/hip-hop single “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” yet remained largely inactive for several years afterward.

During the 2010s he issued mixtapes, EPs, and albums—including Indigo in 2015 and Coming of Age in 2017—through his independent Star Camp label. In the same stretch of activity Sammie co-wrote “Next Breath” for Tank. Early 2019 brought the single “Times 10” featuring Lil Baby.