Sammy Adams, born Samuel Adams Wisner on August 14, 1987, is a hip-hop recording artist from Boston, Massachusetts. While he was a student at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2009, he released the song “I Hate College (Remix),” a remix of rapper Asher Roth’s song “I Love College,” under the name Sam Adams. The song, with over 10 million views on YouTube, made the rapper an Internet star and launched his career.
The next year, he released the underground mixtape Boston’s Opening Day, along with his aboveground debut, the Boston’s Boy EP. The EP debuted on the top of digital hip-hop charts with the help of his successful single “Driving Me Crazy.”
He followed 2012 with one of his most popular tracks “All Night Longer,” then in 2013 with the album Homecoming. This album officially changed his performing name to Sammy Adams rather than Sam Adams, to avoid confusion with the popular Boston brewery.
The 28-year-old has been involved in music for most of his life, playing piano since age 7 and composing his own music at the age of 11. In interviews, he has said that his musical influences have not come from just other rappers, but also from classic rock, rock, classical music, and blues.
He credits this to his family, saying that he would listen to the hip-hop artist Big-L with his brother and classic rock albums with his parents. Adams prides himself on being able to cross genres, allowing him to get back to his musical roots and experiment with other kinds of music rather than just typical hip-hop music.
In a recent interview on aol.com, Adams says that he loves playing college shows, but they are different than performing on his tour, “The biggest difference is winning over the kids at the show who have no idea who you are. …At a college show, some kids are just there to rage with their friends and blow off steam, so I have to work extra hard to win them over and hopefully turn them into a Sammy fan by the end of the set.”
If you went to the Spring Concert and didn’t know who Sammy Adams was, chances are you became a fan!