How SAMSMH Builds His Sound

Samuel Smith grew up surrounded by music, rooted in church spaces where sound was communal and expressive. “I could definitely date it back to being born in a musical family,” he says. He sang in choirs and praise teams, absorbing rhythm long before he ever touched a drum pad or keyboard. The real turning point came later, on an iPad in seventh grade. GarageBand opened a door. “From that point on, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.” What started as curiosity quickly turned into discipline. Then eventually GarageBand became Logic Pro. Middle school experiments turned into high school album projects. Community college sharpened the technical side. Now, he studies audio and live entertainment at Temple.

While he did not grow up playing instruments in church, that changed with time. In 2018, he taught himself drums and piano, gravitating toward tools that gave him control over rhythm and structure. That sense of control still defines how he works today. When SAMSMH sits down to build a track, he does not rush the process. “Usually when I'm figuring out my melody or chords, that's one of the things that I spend the most time on,” he explains. He dissects samples carefully, paying close attention to placement and tone. He knows exactly how he wants something to sound before it ever reaches a final mix.