Samm Henshaw releases a brand new single, titled ‘Jumoke–an Afro-fusion track with pop and traditional folk music elements. On this track, Samm taps into the rich tapestry of his heritage of African music to evoke heartfelt feelings and tug at heartstrings. The BMP is at a mid-tempo pace and the writing implores usage of poetry in relaying confessional and emotional lyrics.
Whilst the themes of the song revolve around love and its all-encompassing facets of yearning, intimacy and longing—Samm also sparsely delves into muses of loss and life without his love interest. It’s evident in his mastery of soulful undertones and instrumentation that Samm understands melody to a great extent and hints at his background of being a multi-instrumentalist, as it gives him an edge over most of his peers.
Henshaw shared, “On October 6, 2022, we lost someone incredibly special, my Uncle Steve. He was a light in every room he entered, and he encouraged me to create songs celebrating our Nigerian heritage. ‘Jumoke’ was born from his inspiration, but sadly, he passed away before hearing it. This release is dedicated to Steve, and the song’s masters will be owned by his four children. ‘Jumoke’ is a celebration of African love and life in his honour.”
The visuals for ‘Jumoke was co-directed by Samm himself, alongside Timi Akindele-Tijani. The art direction of the video was built on the concept of the artist posting on social media, that he was on the look-out for weddings he could attend, as he wanted to film something authentic that happened as oppposed to a contrived play in a formulaic video. Samm offered to perform at the weddings, as a bargaining chip to get footage from various weddings and the resulting outcome is a very beautifully curated video.
Born Iniabasi Samuel Henshaw, on 22 February 1994 to Nigerian parents, Samm Henshaw was raised om
Gospel, Hip-Hop, Pop and R&B music. Subtle elements from each genre can be heard in his rich voice. Mostly known for his hits like ‘Broke and ‘Church, he has performed on stages like the Wireless festival, sold out venues like the Brixton and toured with great company like Tori Kelly, Chance The Rapper and Allen Stone.
Samm released his debut album, ‘Untidy Soul’, on the 28th of January 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. It got raving positive reviews from dignified music mags like NME and The Guardian. NPR Music and VIBE featured the album in their list of best albums of 2022. Henshaw is now back in the studio and is eager to release more music soon!
