When we say you never know who will show up to the Couch, we mean it. Today dreams come true as the legendary SamIam The MC sits down with Melly’s Couch to discuss his long stemming career including being a freestyle/battle rapper, Hip Hop Curator, MC, S.A.K crew member, and 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday champion. Melly takes it back to Kindergarten when she recites Sam’s first rap ever.
He started making tapes in elementary school and they discuss the differences recording then and now. He has gone through many different name changes including Sammy D, Lyrical Assassin and finally landing on SamIAm which was originally his DJ name.
We discuss his DJ career stemming to the Kenwood Homecoming. He also entered the talent show as a b-boy and later on entered the S.A.K crew which focuses on all of the elements. He has all five elements and we discuss all of them. When joining the crew he had to go through an initiation. When discussing the music video for ‘Domino Effect’, Sam promises to put Melly in as a cameo since she was there during filming at Sub T.
Subterranean is a major staple in SamIAm’s career and he has done several music videos there. He also hosts events there now. He has also been a apart of the 606 Open Mics which is the longest running open mics in Chicago since 1998. He has worked hard to preserve the art of freestyling and used to hold battles at Sub T but ended it after the 25th battle. This then leads into discussing No Coast battles. There is a difference between written and freestyle battles. We also get into the psychology of battling. By participating in No Coast, he won the No Coast Freestyler of The Year in 2019.
We break down several of his notable battles and how he has built relationships from there. SamIAm has gotten the opportunity to be a guest teacher and speaker for several people he has battled. His album ‘Remote Control’ came to fruition through one of these guest speaking gigs. Speaking about education we touch base on his college days being a curator, studying communications, joining Phi Beta Sigma and opening up for Talib Kwali.
You know we couldn’t talk to SamIAm without talking about his days on 106 & Park and MTV. and yes we discuss the Jordan earrings. He was the first rapper from Chicago to be retired in 2009 where he became a hall of famer. MTV also had a $1 million dollar battle which he made all the way to the semi-finals before the show was postponed indefinitely. Yes, MTV we’re still waiting. Will this battle ever happen?
Melly brings up other notable battles and freestyles including the weather report on Jam TV, performing in New Orleans, 16 bars for the one shot competition, Slumfest STL which went into overtime, and battling to get into Canada. One of SamIAm’s side gigs is promoting the lottery.
The underground is where it’s at and Sam has tried to make a difference by starting Thunderground Records. They put on events and have many different resources available to create avenues for Chicago underground. This leads to talking about some of the events Sam has been a part of throughout his career including opening up for Kid and Play, Too Hype Crew, Slick Rick, Heiro Day and many others.
Then towards the end of the interview we delve deep into his musical journey with the various tapes he has. We start off by talking about Common having his demo and wanting to work with him until his mom intervened. His first two albums were fully produced by D 2 Da E. Uprock was a song that was featured on the ‘Pump It Up’ video game. He also breaks down what it takes to be an MC.
SamIAm breaks down various songs from his first two albums and the entire ‘Remote Control’ album. The album was entirely produced by Coolout Chris. There is also a remix version available. You can get the physical on CD and Vinyl. While breaking down the tracks they also discuss the corresponding music videos.
While this is his latest album, he has a plethora of other music including ‘Amazing Pt.2’ which won a steppers award. It was also the first video filmed in the Chicago Hip Hop Heritage Museum. Other notables include the ‘Make your mind up tribute’ and ‘I’m Free’. There is a lot of music to get through. Aside from the music, SamIAm also has merch Chi-Bap which stands for Chicago Boom Bap. A lot of the merch has ‘Freestyle OTT’ on it. Little known fact is Sam made a cameo in ‘The Next Episode’.
He leaves the Couch with a legendary custom freestyle. You can find SamIAm The MC by using the following links:
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