Samm Henshaw

For as much as soul is a sound, it’s really a feeling. It’s the purest expression of truth, sadness, joy, and love. Putting a fresh spin on this tradition, Samm Henshaw isn’t afraid to feel out loud. His music reflects a palpable ebb and flow of emotions. He might lean back into a moment of reflection with a soft croon, only to let out all of his pain through a booming chorus. His vocals can drip at a slow pour or surge with emotion, electricity, and energy over a homegrown sonic distillation of soul, alternative, indie, R&B and funk. The London-born Nigerian singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has quietly emerged as a phenomenon with hundreds of millions of streams, critical acclaim, and sold out shows worldwide. As always, he holds nothing back on his second full-length offering, It Could Be Worse. The record is the sound of coming out of heartbreak even stronger, and it’s the sound of a lifelong creative coming into his own as a vital voice. “There’s a lot more vulnerability and growth,” he observes. “There’s an element of maturity to the approach. I’m singing how I would naturally speak. Thematically, it’s what you experience on the other side of grief.” It’s also a natural next step for Samm… Raised in South London, he first introduced himself in 2015 with “Only Wanna Be With You.” Three years later, he gained global traction with “How Does It Feel?” and “Broke,” gathering over 57.4 million Spotify streams. 2022 saw him drop Untidy Soul powered by the fan favorite “Grow.” He incited applause on both sides of the Pond from the likes of The Guardian, Wonderland, and NME who awarded it “4-out-of-5 stars” and hailed it as “a debut album that invites the listener on a voyage of self-discovery. ”Meanwhile, NPR praised, “His warm, yet rough-hewn voice belongs in the pantheon of the greatest soul voices that his generation has to offer.” He debuted the fan favorite “Thoughts & Prayers” with a particularly fiery COLORS performance, and he delivered a stunning rendition of “Grow” on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Earning the respect of his peers, he has notably collaborated with everyone from Pharrell Williams, John Legend, and the late Quincy Jones to EARTHGANG, Tobe Nwigwe, Jacob Banks, and Kota the Friend, among others. Taking his time, Samm co-produced and carefully crafted would become It Could Be Worse during a series of sessions in Los Angeles with collaborators such as Anoop d’souza, OGI, and executive producer Josh Grant. In the midst of writing and recording, he endured a series of unfortunate events, including one particularly rough breakup. “It was the first time I had ever gone through something like that,” he admits. Channeling these emotions on tape, the bulk of the material was born in the aftermath. In order to complement the rawness of the lyrics and vocals, he cut the entirety of the LP accompanied by live musicians for the first time. “The biggest difference was the live instrumentation,” he affirms. “We had so many incredible players who added another dimension to everything. The process made me so happy to be an artist again.” He teased this chapter by dropping “Find My Love” with Tori Kelly, showcasing his dynamic range in the framework of a powerhouse duet. However, “Float” sets the tone for It Could Be Worse. On the track, delicate piano dances across a head-nodding beat punctuated by a slick bassline. Materializing from a dreamy haze, the chorus echoes with a plea, “Don’t let me float, darling.” “I wrote it a couple of months after the breakup,” he recalls. “It was written maybe three hours before I had an eleven-hour plane ride, and I listened to it over and over. When I did, I knew we finally had the right direction for the album. My emotions had become regulated, and I started looking back like, ‘That relationship was beautiful. It sucks it had to end.’ The song is about this fear of losing a person you had something beautiful with. I think we captured the vibe.” Ethereal keys crisscross a shuffling bass-and-drum groove on “Get Back.” Samm’s voice smolders as he wonders, “How do we get back?” This incendiary emotion burns off into embers of a seventies style synth solo. “You’re looking back at a time that you had maybe taken for granted and you want to get back to that place,” he elaborates. “At the time, I was seeing where the world was at, but the song could apply to so many arenas.” Then, there’s “Tangerine.” Musically, doo-wop harmonies swoon, and piano twinkles. Samm dips in and out of emotional extremes as he engages a call-and-response with a choir, “You’d better…pick yourself back up. ” Reaching a moment of acceptance, he proceeds to acknowledge, “It could be worse!” Actress Anika Noni Rose adds another dimension to the track with her guest vocals. “I wanted there to be an element of comedy,” he smiles. “When dark shit happens, you can either allow it to be dark or laugh it off. I tried to encourage people, but almost in a silly way by finding the humor.” On the intimate “Heavy Measures,” you can hear chords slide down the fretboard of an acoustic guitar. As if reassembling a broken heart, he sighs, “It’s heavy on both sides and we’re both empty ”measures. “It was fresh after my relationship had ended,” he goes on. “I was on the verge of tears, but you’re hearing the original take. It’s not perfect, but it’s in the moment. This is the kind of music I want to make.” “Float” glides through a head-nodding beat and sparse, striking piano. Once again, he wears his heart on his sleeve, mesmerizing with urgency on the refrain, “Don’t let me float without you.” He highlights another side of his artistry with “Hair Down.” His infectious delivery pairs perfectly with the groove-laden soundscape as he makes sure to remind, “When you hate the way it feels child, let Jesus take the wheel.” Fittingly, it concludes with an uplifting chant, “Let your hair down.” Inviting full immersion into the album’s embrace, Samm made a conscious decision to release It Could Be Worse exclusively on vinyl first. This way, audiences can experience the album as he intended it. It’s a classic introduction for a classic set of songs and emotions. “I want you to walk away with a sense of joy, hope, and optimism,” he concludes, “Hopefully, it makes you fall in love with music again too—like I did. I want you to be inspired to approach life with a different level of hope and optimism, which I’m learning how to do myself. Also, in this ever growing age of digital media consumption I just want to remind people there’s still other options. There’s still such an immersive, tangible and beautiful way to digest music.” BOILER Putting a fresh spin on soul, Samm Henshaw isn’t afraid to feel out loud. His music reflects a palpable ebb and flow of emotions. He might lean back into a moment of reflection with a soft croon, only to let out all of his pain through a booming chorus. His vocals can drip at a slow pour or surge with emotion, electricity, and energy over a homegrown sonic distillation of soul, alternative, indie, R&B and funk. The London-born Nigerian singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has quietly emerged as a phenomenon with hundreds of millions of streams, critical acclaim, and soldout shows worldwide. Raised in South London, he first introduced himself in 2015 with “Only Wanna Be With You.” Three years later, he gained global traction with “How Does It Feel?” and “Broke,” gathering over 60 million streams. 2022 saw him drop Untidy Soul powered by the fan favorite “Grow.” He incited applause on both sides of the Pond from the likes of The Guardian, Wonderland, NME, and NPR who praised, “His warm, yet rough-hewn voice belongs in the pantheon of the greatest soul voices that his generation has to offer.” He debuted “Thoughts & Prayers” with a particularly fiery COLORS performance, and he delivered a stunning rendition of “Grow” on The Late Late Show with James Corden. He has notably collaborated with everyone from Pharrell Williams, John Legend, and the late Quincy Jones to EARTHGANG, Tobe Nwigwe, Jacob Banks, and Kota the Friend, among others. As always, he holds nothing back on his second full-length offering, It Could Be Worse. The record is the sound of coming out of heartbreak even stronger, and it’s the sound of a lifelong creative coming into his own as a vital voice.