Sammus (born Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo)
Ivorian/Congolese-American
Rapper + Producer + Ph.D. student at Cornell University
Website: sammusmusic.com
Instagram: @sammusmusic
Born in Rhinebeck, New York to an Ivorian mother and Congolese father, Sammus is an underground rap artist that “has a gift for getting a message across,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Sammus is the daughter of college professors – her mom taught at Cornell University, while her father at Wells College – and was exposed to the idea of a quality education from an early age. But it would be music that would spark her interest. Starting in high school where she used the PlayStation program called ‘MTV Music Generator’ to produce music, Sammus admits that her older brother was the one who exposed her to video games and alternative rock music. She also credits Kanye West and his album the college dropout for allowing her to see the possibility of taking her original intentions for music beyond cartoons and video games. Instead, she could actually enter the world of hip-hop and share her honest and powerful journey with the world.
She would go on to graduate from Cornell University in 2008, then joined Teach for America in Houston, Texas as a teacher. Utilizing her double degree in sociology and science & technology, Sammus was responsible for teaching children math and science at the elementary level until 2010. And it was during this time period that Sammus discovered her students’ love of hip-hop; so she began to write raps for them in hopes of inspiring them to learn. By fall of 2011, she returned to NY and enrolled at Cornell’s Ph.D. program in science and technology studies.
Since 2010, Sammus has musically straddled between the ‘nerdcore’ subgenre (which is characterized by themes of interest to nerds), and hip-hop focused on social issues targeting gender and race. Beginning with her debut EP Fly Nerd (2010), followed by the album M’other Brain (2012), Sammus would go on to release her second album, Prime (2013), which became the bestselling rap album on Bandcamp. Up until today, not only is Sammus in an interesting space that she welcomes with pride, but she provides the avenue for nerdcore fans to develop a better appreciation for hip-hop.
In addition to her 2015 domestic tour with nerdcore rapper, Mega Ran, Sammus has also performed at geek girl con (2014, 2015), game culture conventions like PAX East and Magfest (both in 2015), and SXSW Music Festival (2015, 2016).
“The spaces she occupies both as a rapper and a nerd are dominated by men, and nerd culture by white men particularly. That Sammus not only survives but excels in that zone speaks to her talent and dedication.”
Interesting fact: the source of Sammus’ name comes from a video game character in the 1986 Nintendo game 'Metroid', called Samus Aran.
Sources: sammusmusic.com, Ithaca Voice and Los Angeles Times