Sammus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sammus
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Sammus at the Haunt in Ithaca, New York, in 2015
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Enongo Ahou Lumumba-Kasongo |
| Born | March 20, 1986 Rhinebeck, New York |
| Origin | Ithaca, New York, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop, nerdcore |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, record producer, teacher |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Nu-Black Music Group, Don Giovanni Records |
| Associated acts | Mega Ran, Open Mike Eagle, Xenia Rubinos, Latasha Alcindor, The NPC Collective, Sadie Dupuis, Izzy True, Chance Fisher, Gym Class Heroes |
Enongo Ahou Lumumba-Kasongo (born on March 20, 1986), known as Sammus (often written as SΔMMUS), is an American underground rapper, a former teacher, and a music producer. She creates her own beats and writes her own songs.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo was born in Rhinebeck, NY. Her mother is from the Ivory Coast, and her father is from the Congo. Her great-uncle was Patrice Lumumba, who was once the Prime Minister of Congo. Both of her parents were professors. They moved the family to Ithaca, New York, when she was young. Her mother taught at Cornell University, and her father taught at Wells College.
Sammus started making music in high school. She used the name DJ Eno. She first used a PlayStation program called MTV Music Generator. Later, she used a music software called Reason to create beats. When she needed a new stage name, a friend suggested "Samus." This name comes from the main character of the Metroid video game series. Both Sammus and the character Samus are women in fields often dominated by men.
Education and Teaching Career
Sammus earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Cornell University in 2008. She studied both Science and Technology Studies and Sociology. After college, she worked full-time as a teacher in Houston, Texas, for a program called Teach for America. This program helps new teachers work in schools that need them.
Sammus then went back to Cornell in 2011 to continue her studies. She earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 2015 and a doctorate in Science and Technology Studies in 2019. In 2019, she received a special two-year fellowship at Brown University. There, she studied the art and methods of music from the African diaspora. Today, she is a professor in the Music Department at Brown University.
Sammus's Music Style
Sammus's older brother, Disashi, helped shape her musical taste. He introduced her to video games and alternative rock bands like Weezer and Nirvana. Sammus has also said that Kanye West greatly influenced her, especially his first album, The College Dropout.
She explained that this album came out at the perfect time for her. Before hearing it, she didn't feel like she had a voice in hip hop. Most hip hop she heard was either about having lots of money or was very serious and talked about big social issues. Sammus felt her own problems, like not wanting to go to school, didn't fit into those categories. But Kanye West sang about not wanting to go to school, which made her feel like her own experiences could be part of hip hop.
Sammus released her first music collection, an EP called Fly Nerd, in 2010. An EP is like a mini-album with fewer songs. She then released the album M'Other Brain in 2012. After rapper Mega Ran heard her music, they started working together. In 2013, her second album, Prime, quickly became the top-selling rap album on Bandcamp. Bandcamp is a website where artists can share and sell their music.
In December 2013, Sammus started a Kickstarter campaign for her fourth album. Kickstarter is a website where people can donate money to help artists create projects. This album, Another M, was a "concept album" based on the Metroid video game series. A concept album tells a story or has a main theme. This album helped her gain fans in the nerdcore music style. Nerdcore is a type of hip hop music that focuses on "nerdy" topics like video games and science fiction.
However, Sammus has said she doesn't fully identify as a nerdcore rapper. She prefers the term "Afrofuturism" for her video game-themed music. Afrofuturism is a cultural movement that combines African culture with technology and science fiction. For Sammus, this term helps connect her music to her Black identity.
Live Performances
Sammus has toured across the U.S. She went on the Rappers with Arm Cannons tour with Mega Ran in 2015. She has performed at many big events, including the SXSW Music Festival since 2015. She also performed at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX East) in 2015 and Geek Girl Con in 2014 and 2015. She has also been a performer at MAGFest, a music and gaming festival, in 2015, 2016, and 2024. In June 2017, she performed at the Northside Festival in Brooklyn, New York.
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)
