[WATCH] Sam I - "Don't Give Up" / Heaven: Short Film Dance Rehearsal BTS

Sam I and Nevaeh Meraz, lovingly lifted from his Instagram

Not sure why I sat on this video for a few days, but after re-watching it again I’m tryna make sure that the inspiration gets spread around.

Before we get to the nitty gritty about why this video is specifically giving me The Feels™ imma make sure we’re all on the same page. TL;DR - Sam Speigel, whom we have adored thoroughly on this site for his N.A.S.A. projects is clearing the slate on any other AKA of his and will be moving forward releasing music as Sam I.

With that, he’s just released his debut full-length under his aforementioned new moniker titled, Random Shit From The Internet Era. The album is full of features from like…everybody? No but really. We’re talking Freddie Gibbs, Theophilus London, Doja Cat, Anderson .Paak, RZA, Barbie Hatch, etc. etc. As the name would suggest, it’s not exactly a “cohesive album” per say, as it’s more a collection of ideas that have been lingering around for awhile that he decided to finish and shoot out into the world. “I usually love to work conceptually,” notes Spiegel. “Call me old school, but I love making albums that have a theme or concept that carries you through the record.” For me, the magic of this record is knowing that some of these songs were ideas that were over 15 years old. Yes, you read right. That was not a typo. Some of these are 15 years in the making. It really speaks to the equally groundbreaking and timeless nature of Spiegel’s music IMO.

OKAY BUT LET’S GET TO THIS VIDEO BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY NEED THIS.

For his latest single, “Don’t Give Up”, which features Sia, Busta Rhymes & Vic Mensa (I fucking told you everybody is on this goddamn record 😂), Spiegel assembled some lovely behind the scenes footage from his forthcoming short film that he began working on prior to the pandemic. Would you be surprised to hear that COVID derailed his plans to shoot the film back in March? 🙄 yeah didn’t think so. The film is based off the real life experiences of a dancer named Nevaeh Meraz who overcame abuse, depression and suicide attempts to become an acclaimed performer.

As the backstory goes (because I refuse to spoil her part of the story), the way he and Meraz linked up was a byproduct of her tagging him in videos of her dancing to his music on Instagram. Some more random shit from the internet era, if you will. As he shares, “I was struck by her. She dances with so much feeling. It's all there...right on the surface. She lays it all out in her expression, not hiding anything.” Even though some filming restrictions have been lifted he decided to cut together some of the dance rehearsal and interview footage as a kind of behind-the-scenes prequel to the film.

When I say I was covered in goosebumps after hearing her story of how she got into dancing. Y’all…. 🥺 It’s so beautiful the way that a world of pain can produce moments like this. I hope taking four minutes and four seconds to have a glance at this video helps you remember that your life can dramatically change in an instant, so if you’re struggling right now like I feel like we all are (thanks stupid fucking pandemic), don’t give up.

(ps 404 - more random internet shit, I SEE YOU SAM I 🤪😂)

Watch “Don’t Give Up” below. If you want the full message from Spiegel about his decision to work under Sam I, I’ve included that after the video. 😊

A NOTE FROM SAM SPIEGEL, AKA SAM I

With Random Shit from the Internet Era, I’ll be releasing my first album as a solo artist. Like so many things in our world, I’ve gone through a huge transition these past few years, and I feel like I’m embarking on a new life…a new version of myself. I’ve always created music behind a pseudonym. It was fun to be N.A.S.A. because I love space so much. I could explore my passion for the foreign, the mysterious, the unknown, the unity of humanity, all of the things that space signifies to me. With Maximum Hedrum, the only rule in the studio with Derrick and I was to have fun so I expressed my goofy side. I wrote just to make Derrick and myself laugh, I explored my perversions, got psychedelic. But at a certain point I started to feel limited by these projects—like I wasn’t able to express all of the feelings, thoughts, and ideas I have within their concepts—so I started releasing music as myself, Sam Spiegel.

With N.A.S.A.’s “Jihad Love Squad” I started to learn how to work with moving picture and discovered my love for directing, which I continued developing as I embarked on a transitional period. I needed to clear my musical slate and release everything that I’ve had stored up for years; music that I’ve been wanting to release but has never fit within my other projects. It’s been a few years of putting out these random songs, some of which have ended up on Random Shit…

I’m clearing my slate with Random Shit… It is a new beginning for me. My music coming out going forward is not reiterations of old songs modernized, but where I stand now and into the future. It is day one for me in my new life as a grown-ass human and artist, and so I’ll be releasing everything from here on out under my new name, Sam I, both on the audio and the visual side. I hope you all come along on this new adventure with me. 

Lots of love and thanks for listening,
Sam I

[Watch] Big Boi & Theophilus London - "She Said OK" (NSFW)

If the quote "female in a domineering role and our rappers, our men, in a submissive role" was something associated with Big Boi and Theophilus London's not-so-subtle single "She Said OK", you might be a bit apprehensive. Turns out that is exactly what director Alexi Papalexopoulos wanted to achieve with the visuals for the song, and the result is.... a pretty traditional rap video. Peep the replay above to see Big Boi and Theophilus hanging out with a bunch of naked ladies and smoking cigars.

[Night Out] Theophilus London Slipper Launch Party @ The Black Tag 8/1/2012

credit: @sproutdrI remember two SXSWs ago when I was filling in for The Audio Perv last minute on the red black carpet at the 2011 MTV Woodies that I briefly got some facetime with Theophilus London and we were talking about the shoe he had designed for Cole Haan. I hadn't really been keeping up with him much past the mixtapes and his full-length, Timez Are Weird These Days, when those dropped. When I heard that he had continued to dabble in clothing and specifically shoe design, I jumped at the chance to feast my eyes on his latest pair of slippers with his signature LVRS branding on them courtesy of a partnership with Del Toro. Sprout and I love us some white wine and shoes, so this event was a total win-win for us.  Theophilus London's Blue Suede Buck Shoes by Cole HaanUpon arrival at the packed boutique, I noticed that there were more than just the Cole Haans and Del Toros on display. I soon found out as I was directed to the makeshift bar that he had designed everything in the room, which included sequin shirts, baseball caps, and a few different T-shirt designs. I should also mention that this particular slipper launch was timed with the release of his latest mixtape, Rose Island Vol. 1, which you can go grab over on his website.

After a few awkward moments of people looking down at their phones and grabbing drinks, the room was filled with chatter and people started to make their way around the room looking at all of the different pieces on display. I'll admit, I had a hard time keeping my hands off the sequin shirts and the slippers. I even made a pathetic attempt to model with the shoes but couldn't quite get my blue steel pose down well enough. I gained a little more respect for models after seeing how silly I looked when I peeked over Sprout's shoulder at the LCD display on her camera.

My best "blue steel" with the LVRS slippersIf I had slightly larger feet (US mens size 8-13 to be exact) and weren't on such a stritct blogger budget (sticker price is $360 for these loverlies), I would be all over these shoes. There's just enough to the design that both ladies and gents can pull off. Great work, Mr. London. I hope you're really proud of yourself.

If you've got the spare change and my shoe modeling really sold you on these, you can grab these limited edtion (but not hand numbered, bummer) shoes over on Del Toros website.

Oh! MTVStyle was also there pointing their cameras all over the place and managed to get London to open up about about the LVRS brand and the shoes he's designed. You can check that out below:

Get More: MTV Shows

You can also check out more of Sprout's photos from the party here: 

[Download] Theophilus London - 'Rose Land Vol.1' (Mixtape)

Theophilus London has just let loose his brand new mixtape, Rose Land v.1. His fans will be rather pleased with the release which features the likes of A$AP Rocky, Big Boi, Machine Drum and Sade. You can download the entire thing for free over here or here.

[News] Big Boi Announces Release Date for 'Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors'

Big Boi recently took to Twitter to announce that his next album will be titled Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, and followed that up with a brand new track featuring Theophilus London. Now, the rapper has once again taken to Twitter to announce that the album will be released on November 13th, so here's hoping he's true to his word. Give the Theophilus London-featuring track "She Said OK," which may or may not be included on the album, below.

[Listen] Big Boi & Theophilus London feat. TRE LUCE - "She Said OK"

Big Boi recently took to Twitter to announce that his next album will be titled Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, and late last night he followed that up by dropping a brand new track featuring Theophilus London and TRE LUCE. The song, titled "She Said OK," is confirmed to be included on the forthcoming effort, but it's a good indicator of the direction Big Boi is going in. Check it out and download it below.

[Listen] Theophilus London - "Morning Kisses"

The good folk over at Dynmk copped themselves the premiere of a brand new Theophilus London track titled "Morning Kisses". The track is to feature on his upcoming Rose Island mixtape See what you make of it below.