Sammy Adams

Biography

Samuel Adams Wisner (born August 14, 1987) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. A descendant of U.S. President John Quincy Adams, he rose to prominence in 2010 with his debut EP Boston's Boy×Boston's Boy2010 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Comin' Up3:442Driving Me Crazy4:033Swang3:144Just Love Here4:095Coast 2 Coast3:216You Girl3:477Tab Open3:538I'm So High3:139Still I Rise3:5210See Me Now3:2911Fly Jets Over Boston2:4412Just Sayin'3:11, which reached #1 on the iTunes hip-hop chart and #73 on the Billboard 200. He signed with RCA Records in 2011 and released singles including "Only One×Only One8 May 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Only One3:222Summertime3:22" and "L.A. Story×L.A. Story28 May 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1L.A. Story3:28" before returning to independent releases. His debut studio album, The Long Way×The Long Way24 March 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Remember3:532Helluva (feat. Kat Nestel)3:253War2:374Long Way4:025Rock With You2:526All Night Longer (feat. B.o.B)3:587Overboard4:058Electric Appeal3:069Vinyl2:2910This City3:4811Old Ways3:5412Love Again (feat. Madison Love)4:1313We Are the Ones3:1914Champion3:2815All for You2:42, was released in 2016.

Early life

Sammy Adams was born on August 14, 1987, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Kata Hull, a painting instructor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and Chuck Wisner, a leadership consultant. His mother is named for her ancestor Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of President John Quincy Adams, and the family regularly attended the Adams family reunion in Quincy. He and his family moved to Wayland, Massachusetts, when he was in high school. Adams attended several schools, including Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Proctor Academy, and Beaver Country Day School, before finishing at Wayland High School during his junior and senior years. He went on to attend Hobart College, where he played varsity soccer, before transferring to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he majored in political science.
Adams has been involved in music since his childhood; he played piano from the age of 7 and began improvising his own beats and melodies at age 11. He became a fan of rap music in the eighth grade. Adams has stated in interviews that his musical influences have come not only from other rappers, but also from classic rock, classical music, and blues. He began writing raps throughout middle and high school, and started recording songs on his MacBook in 2008 in the dorms of Trinity College.

2010: Boston's Boy

In September 2009, Adams released "I Hate College (Remix)," a response to rapper Asher Roth's song "I Love College," on YouTube. The video has over 10 million views as of September 2015. He also released "Kimber," "Poker Face Remix," "Hard s***," "Opening Day," and "Rollin," which have combined for over 2 million views as of September 2012. His debut EP, Boston's Boy×Boston's Boy2010 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Comin' Up3:442Driving Me Crazy4:033Swang3:144Just Love Here4:095Coast 2 Coast3:216You Girl3:477Tab Open3:538I'm So High3:139Still I Rise3:5210See Me Now3:2911Fly Jets Over Boston2:4412Just Sayin'3:11, topped iTunes' hip-hop charts, driven by the success of "Driving Me Crazy". Boston's Boy was released on March 4, 2010, by 1st Round Records and reached #73 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on iTunes. Adams credited his loyal college fan base for the success of the EP. On July 13, 2010, four extra tracks were released to create a deluxe version of Boston's Boy: "Still I Rise," "See Me Now," "Fly Jets Over Boston," and "Just Sayin'." Two of the songs featured special guests: G. Curtis on "Still I Rise" and Curren$y on "Fly Jets Over Boston".
Adams finished his second mixtape, Party Records×Party Records23 September 2010 · Studio album · Mixtape/StreetSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Living the Dream4:002Hold On4:003Lemonade3:034Some Chordz2:375Share Your Dolla4:346Bass Head2:117Summer Techno4:158No Speak Americano2:239I Got'em Like1:4710Heads Will Roll3:2611I'm On3:0112Gonna Be OK3:4813Lonely People2:4214Frat Music3:1415All That3:07 Mixtape, in London and released it in September 2010. In the same month, Adams was arrested during a show at Kansas State University. After having his noise permit revoked, Adams yelled "Fuck the police!" and was subsequently handcuffed onstage as he tried to perform "Driving Me Crazy".

2011–2014: Signing with RCA and debut EP

He performed at the music festival Lollapalooza in Chicago in August 2011. In late 2011, Adams signed with RCA Records of Sony.
Adams released the promotional singles "Blow Up×Blow Up2 December 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Blow Up2:56" and "Summertime" in November 2011 and March 2012, respectively. He made his television debut on the late-night talk show Conan with Conan O'Brien in January 2012, performing "Blow Up". A third single, "Only One×Only One8 May 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Only One3:222Summertime3:22", was released in April 2012 and became Adams' first track to receive mainstream radio attention. Teen Vogue named Adams one of five new "Artists To Watch" in 2012, and Artist Direct gave the single 4 out of 5 stars. "Only One" was included in AT&T's 2012 Summer Olympics commercial featuring footballer Alex Morgan.
On August 1, 2012, EW reported that Adams was set to appear as himself on CW's hit teen drama 90210. Adams released a new single, "All Night Longer×All Night Longer21 August 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1All Night Longer2:57", for digital download on August 21, 2012. In October 2012, he played himself in a German reality show called Berlin Tag und Nacht. In Fall 2012, Adams went on his "All Night Longer" tour. In November 2012, he joined the remix of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's song "I Knew You Were Trouble".
During a charity concert in New Jersey on March 23, 2013, Adams fell ill during his performance and was taken to an ambulance for treatment by paramedics. During April 2013 he went on tour with California rapper T. Mills. On May 10, 2013, Adams released the single "L.A. Story×L.A. Story28 May 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1L.A. Story3:28" featuring American singer Mike Posner, produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder. The song was released to iTunes on May 28 and to Mainstream Top 40 radio on June 4, 2013. On September 18, 2013, Adams announced on Twitter that his debut album, Homecoming, was to be released in October. He later announced that Homecoming would be released on November 19, 2013, as a digital-only EP.

2015–2016: 1st Round and debut LP

In 2015, Adams parted with RCA Records after three years on the label. He announced via Twitter that he would be releasing an album as an independent artist, and soon after rejoined his former independent label, 1st Round Records.
On December 3, 2015, Adams released the lead single "Remember" from his debut studio album The Long Way×The Long Way24 March 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Remember3:532Helluva (feat. Kat Nestel)3:253War2:374Long Way4:025Rock With You2:526All Night Longer (feat. B.o.B)3:587Overboard4:058Electric Appeal3:069Vinyl2:2910This City3:4811Old Ways3:5412Love Again (feat. Madison Love)4:1313We Are the Ones3:1914Champion3:2815All for You2:42, which was released through 1st Round Records on March 24, 2016.

2017–present: Independent

After the promotional cycle for The Long Way ended, Adams left 1st Round Records. In August 2017, Adams released his tropical house single "Shining×Shining18 August 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Shining3:12".
On July 29, 2017, Adams headlined the inaugural Briggs Fest in Boston.
On November 10, 2017, he released the single "Driving" with Telykast and Basko.

Personal life

Wisner played varsity soccer at Hobart College, where he scored 6 goals and had 4 assists. He then transferred to Trinity College, where he was named soccer captain during his senior year. While playing for Trinity, Wisner tallied 11 goals and 11 assists, leading the team in points in 2008 and starting all 16 games for the Bantams. He was selected to the All-NESCAC First Team at forward in 2008. He is a fan of English club Arsenal.