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Sammie

Source: Courtesy of Sammie / Courtesy of Sammie

While a lot of us still think of Sammie as the young boy singing on a baseball diamond, you need only peruse his Instagram page to see that not only is he a full grown man but he has the maturity and groundedness to match.

We spoke to him recently about his new single “Picky” about a woman being selective when it comes to the men she dates. But having standards is not just something that applies to the ladies. And in his recent decision to embrace abstinence, Sammie knows that all too well.

See what he had to say about sexual selectivity, soul ties and so much more.

I heard you new single, “Picky” what inspired that?

Afrobeats, the rhythm is very friendly to the ear, to the consumer these days and even more particular, we’ve been quarantined so when you listen to that record it kind of takes you away to an island of your choice. And I have a great relationship with Rotimi. And I always try to find a way to put a good vibe but still put some substance and implement that in it. So I think it’s okay for a woman to be choosy and mentally aware of who she allows in her space. So I thought it was a good concoction. It’s a feel good record and the ladies seem to be vibing with the record for the people.

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In the past, have you been choosy in your dating relationships?

Yeah thus far in my life, I’ve been in like three relationships. I’ve been blessed to be with amazing women in my life, whether it worked or not. It takes a lot for me to fall in love. I love everybody because I was put here to love but to be in love, it really takes me being in a vulnerable, transparent place. So, I’ve been very choosy and mindful of who I give my energy to.

What would you say influenced that? A lot of people with your celebrity, with your fame, with your access do not live like that. What about you is different?

I realized that peace is so priceless. It’s the greatest treasure and jewel that one can embody. If I’m going to spend my time and my morning and my nights with somebody, it’s got to be someone who compliments my happiness, my joy and my journey in this thing called life. And once you find that peace, that self-love and that self-awareness, you can’t allow anyone into your circle, or your space that will disrupt that.

I saw that you’ve decided to practice abstinence. Was this a recent decision?

It was recent. It’s almost approaching a month. I’ve been single for going on about 5-6 months and I’ve gone about relationships all my life a little incorrectly. By that I mean I’ve gone by my eyes first. The first thing you do when you see a person is see them. So there’s an attraction typically there. There’s that lust. But once that’s been fulfilled and quenched then what? Where’s the substance? Is she going to sharpen me? Is she going to pray for me? Is she going to be able to  intensify my happiness because I’m already happy. Is she going to be able to intensify my peace? Because I already have it. Is she going to intensify my finances and my dreams and aspirations? Because I’m doing well for myself. So I think this round in my singleness, I need to be able to see the next woman that I give my heart and soul to clearly without having sex as the Mecca or the foundation of the relationship.

Because I feel like, through experience, sex can cloud things for both parties or one party. And if so, there’s a disconnect.

Did being in quarantine influence that decision in any way? Yeah, I mean I’ve always—and I’m blessed and I say this humbly, I’ve always gotten a lot of female attention my entire life, just because I’ve been famous since I was twelve and I sing to women. 80 percent of my following are women, it’s fair to say. I think because women know that I’m single, I’m quarantining and I’m not moving around – I am busy but I do have time to, if I stumble upon a beautiful spirit, to indulge. I’ve been getting a lot of female attention and it’s kind overwhelming. So I said, ‘You know what, I need to abstain in this season of stillness.’ Just so I’m not overextending myself and scattering myself out to so many different women.

That came with growth. Because in the past, I was able to juggle sometimes two, three, four, five women sometimes and not feel any kind of heaviness or weight. But now, as I tap into my spirituality more, and just understanding that you can have all these women but I’m just one man. Someone’s going to get the short end of the stick. So I want to go about it a little differently this time.

We have this discussion on the site and in life. But do you believe in the concept of soul ties?

Yeah very much so. In the caption when I put up my abstinent post, in the caption I said that I wanted to be released and loosed from soul ties. Because it’s an exchange of spirits. It’s a physical gratification that you get from indulging in sexual activity but you’re giving a piece of yourself to that person. So sometimes, that tiredness, that fatigue, that anxiety that you feel, it’s not your own , it’s the bodies that you chosen to indulge with. And because I deem sex more spiritual, less physical. It was time to try just a different way and just see how that works out for me.

What has been the response to you announcing your decision?

Honestly, it’s mixed reviews. You have some people that support the journey and some women deem it as a challenge to take you out of that space, which is ironic. It’s like 50-50. But it also weeds out those who aren’t on the same path and frequency as me.

And it’s nothing wrong with a woman not wanting to abstain or be celibate. I’m not pressuring anybody to do something that’s against their will. For me it just kind of makes the process of elimination that much more clear and easier to see through.

 

Anything else you have coming up?

My album Such Is Life, my fifth studio album, which I’m very, very excited to create release to the world will be out June 5, 2020. I also launched a candle line, two scents, via a company called Pop and Pearl Candle.  Pure Love and Pure Honey are the two. We just added three more to the collection: Indigo, All Night and Peace.

Peace and All Night will be available if you purchase the album. If you buy it on iTunes, Google Play or the hard copy, you get a bundle package of the candle. So I thought that would be dope to give women some candles to vibe out to while they listen to a Sammie album or Sammie playlist.

I didn’t think I would be able to have the time, initially since I was on the Millennium Tour at the beginning of the year to create more music but I’ve been allowing my fans into the process of my sixth studio album. It’s called Sunsets. It’s been dope to watch them write the song from scratch. Then I go to the studio and play It for them a couple of times. So they feel very much attached to the project. So I’m excited to see how that works them seeing the whole journey through.

Have you found that the quarantine has helped your creative process?

It’s actually been beautiful. It’s intensified my creative space because again we have time. A lot of artists are typically on the go, city to city, state to state. Even how we do press. Now we’re doing phone calls or IG Live or Zoom calls. Typically, I would be in New York for a week and then Atlanta for a week and then L.A. for a week. For me, I really live by a mantra, control what you what can and let God control what you can’t. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, we have no control or say when the world will get back to normal or if it will ever get back to normal. So the best thing we can do is dive into our passions, our aspirations, our creative side. And it’s our duty to share those . And that’s all I’ve been doing.

It’s really opened my mind up and I think we’re appreciating the small things in life. Music particularly speaking. Everyone speaks that language of love, that language of conversation and I’m blessed to have the gift of song. So it’s been a peaceful place for me and I’ve been blessed to create some great art in this time.

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