EV: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
SammyLee: * My Record Label is always searching for ways and means to get my music to the world and came across exposed vocals. So credit to AK Music!
EV: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
SammyLee: * I grew up in lagos nigeria, I became an artist simply because music is always hunting me so it was clear that I’m suppose to be a musician.
EV: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
SammyLee: * My real name is Samuel and my friends and family do call me Sammy so one day my friend started calling me SammyLee and the name caught my attention then I decided to pick up the name.
EV: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
SammyLee: * Online music sharing is very good cos it reaches out to thousands which is just at your finger tips and yes I do give away my music for free simply because it’s not always about making revenues, sometimes Your true fans might not be able to afford to buy the music as at that point in time so sometimes I’d rather let it be free.
EV: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
SammyLee: * Nowadays you have to pay to get airplays if you’re not known, so all I will say is keep making good music cos that’s the number 1 key to getting your song on airwaves and it staying there then pray that God favours you in other to meet people that will put you through.
EV: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
SammyLee: * Everyone make mistakes once in a while so yes I do, all I do is apply professionalism to it and i never capitalise on that mistake to spoil the rest of the performance , I would rather do it in a way to make you believe that was what I initially planned to do.
EV: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
SammyLee: * Yes I do Tour, I recently went on a tour in Ghana from accra to kumasi and we planning on doing african tour as well then the Europe tour will follow.
EV: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
SammyLee: * My inspiration comes in different ways, I could hear a ready made beat and I instantly know what I wanna sing about and also I could be out and the happenings around me triggers a song I will just record a voice note and take it from there later, my usual song writing process is early In the morning when I wake up my brain is always fresh for smooth writing.
EV: Do you have a band website? Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Do you use Bandcamp, Spotify, ExposedVocals or SoundCloud to share your music?
SammyLee: * Yes I have a website, twitter, facebook and sound cloud.
EV: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
SammyLee: * I don’t have any embarrassing song on my mp3 player every song is there for a peculiar reason.
EV: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
SammyLee: * I’d probably go relax on an island somewhere for a bit but I honestly can’t take a year off.
EV: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
SammyLee: * I work with Nuendo, Logic and cubase.
EV: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
SammyLee: * Any little promo counts so be it through the internet, tv, radio etc…everything adds up to making me bigger.
EV: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
SammyLee: * Will like to perform at the grammy’s with R.kelly cos his music had so much influence on me when I started learning and making music he’s a major inspiration to me so I will be fulfilled if we perform on the world’s biggest stage together.
EV: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
SammyLee: * The next project coming out is the official video for my song “Your Desire” that features Iyanya.
EV: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
SammyLee: * I would be a computer engineer
EV: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
SammyLee: * The first album I bought was R’kelly”s “I believe I can fly album” , simply because he was my idol as at that point in time.
EV: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
SammyLee: * I try to balance all so it doesn’t clash, I try to know my schedules ahead enough and that helps me to balance both sides.
EV: What should fans look forward to for the rest of 2013 and beyond?
SammyLee: * I’m still working, learning and growing better music wise and the business part of it so people should expect great things from me.
Thanks so much for taking the time to sit down with us! You can download SammLee’s track here CELEBRATE – SammyLee ft D- black (prod by laxio)
Also, be sure to tune in to Kiss 104.7 in AL and 92.7FM in Canada do hear his music played on FM radio for the next couple of months.
