SAMANTHA CLEMONS
st. louis singer-songwriter
-
1M+ VIEWS
across video-sharing platforms
-
100k+ STREAMS
across streaming platforms
-
14k+ MONTHLY LISTENERS
on Spotiy
-
NOTABLE FEATURES
Rolling Stone, NPR, Dallas Observer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
NEW RELEASE
The Story Behind “Wild West”
wild west (adjective): an untamed frontier characterized by lawlessness.
For me, the phrase “wild west” has always conjured images of unknown territory. It was a time and a place where rules were flexible, opportunities vast, and the disadvantage loomed just above the landscape like vultures.
It’s hard not to see the similarities now: the accumulation of wealth, reinforcement of outsized political power, and concentration of cultural influence are all features of a time that—though romanticized—are formative in our understanding of the western world.
Now as much as ever, the social, political, and spiritual climates feel in flux: with technology evolving at breath-taking speed, the societal frameworks we once relied on (for better and for worse) have been upended. And all while our ability to gather and organize has grown exponentially.
The earth is shifting beneath our feet — I don’t know a single person who hasn’t felt it.
With those shifts, though, come a vaguely familiar sense of uncertainty and unruliness, encouraging us to embed ourselves within any community that will extend a warm welcome, in hopes of defending against the impending peril.
Some would have us believe that this fear we’re experiencing is imaginary; others embolden us to train our sights on some frightful group of their choosing. Regardless, there’s danger all-around. As our increased connectedness shrinks the space between us and our friends, so too does the distance from our perceived enemies grow smaller.
Our culture has grown equally ripe with opportunity for both connection and confrontation. And what a weary people does it make. I was tired when I wrote this song… weary in the worst of ways. But one tends to get sloppy in such a state, so I dumped the feelings here so I could get back to work.
OTHER RECENT RELEASES
“...“Colored” is not just a song but a poignant narrative that showcases Samantha Clemons’ exceptional songwriting and vocal talent. It is a deeply personal yet universally relatable piece that challenges listeners to contemplate their own identities and the colors with which they have been painted by the world around them. With “Colored,” Clemons cements her place as a formidable voice in contemporary music, capable of weaving complex emotional themes into compelling and beautiful melodies.”
Praise for “Colored”
““Spectacle” carries a powerful message through her soul-soaked vocals and punchy pop production. [It] dives into the complexities of our social and political landscapes, confronting the superficiality and disingenuousness with cryptic clarity. Backed by a stellar ensemble of St. Louis’ finest musicians, she sings a powerful and epic call to action.”
Praise for “Spectacle”
PRESS
“...[A]rtist Samantha Clemons sings with pure emotion. Across a sturdily strummed acoustic guitar, Clemons’ voice soars with sincerity and depth as she sings about joys and hardships both personal and universal. Her style rightfully draws comparisons to Lauryn Hill, but her intimate confessionals put her in a category all her own. Her latest EP, Burn, is a fine addition to her growing canon...”
“Clemons’ voice is striking: secured in deep depths in one moment, then bursting like wildfire in the next. And just as complex as her range are her lyrics — the story she tells of a mother desperate to protect her son from the world around him is so beautifully imagined. For too many reasons, we can’t all be in the room where it happened, but if you just close your eyes, this... will take you there.”
“On ‘No Room’... her voice is allowed to shine in all its glory. The soulful pleas at the end of the track are equal parts exhilarating and chill-inducing.”
“Every once in awhile an acoustic singer-songwriter comes along who is able to sing with raw passion and an ability to put into words every feeling of heartbreak, regret, and hope that you may have felt... Often compared to the great Lauryn Hill, her voice is smooth, inviting and seductive in its honesty.”
“Her rich, soulful vocals carry her 2018 EP “Burn;” the introspective 2023 single “Colored;” and her latest sunlit number, “Spectacle,” released in February. There’s something special about bearing witness to her natural talent, sharpened over years of repetitive, monotonous discipline. It’s expected from someone like her, who picked up a guitar at age 9 and grew up singing in church choir.”
“With powerful vocals and unapologetic lyrics, Samantha Clemons’ song, “Burn,” is a song that’s made for anyone who has been oppressed and made to feel like that oppression is okay. She punches home the idea that when there is oppression in any form, there’s no reason for the oppressed to have to ‘walk a mile in the other’s shoes’ when the opposition’s goal is to keep you underfoot. The song is applicable on so many levels in our country right now: politically, racially, across genders, and really on an almost infinite number of other levels.”
BIOGRAPHY
A genre-fluid singer-songwriter and musician based in St. Louis, Samantha Clemons is hard to pin down. But better that than being boxed in. Born in the sweltering summer heat of Houston, Texas in 1988, Samantha’s music finds its roots in the echoes of gospel choirs, jazz and afro-caribbean rhythms that surrounded her during her childhood.
Sheltered–in more ways than one–on military installations around the world, music was one of few constants. No matter where her family ended up - or for how long - Mahalia Jackson, Buju Banton, and Aretha Franklin would fill the walls, regardless of the continent upon which they stood. Her mother–a St. Lucian musician, singer and artist herself–was the first to see her potential and bought Samantha her first guitar at age nine, shaping the songstress she would become.
For Samantha, life has been as tumultuous as it’s been triumphant, especially the last few years. Fresh off a 3-year run of award-winning growth for the contracting firm she founded in 2016, she quickly found herself struggling to find balance in the midst of a life whose parts often feel discordant. But as she’s learned to do throughout her life, Samantha turned to music for solace and respite, seeking sanctuary in a realm where reality is distilled to rhythm and color becomes sound.
Samantha’s latest single, “Colored,” comes five years after her critically acclaimed EP “Burn,” and with it, brings her far-flung journeys into sharp relief. Like a hammock hovering over the void, Samantha has found a sense of harmony that has been elusive. At once both deep and delicate, it confronts feelings of being boxed in head-on and the precise arrangement gives Clemons’s voice ample room to roam the intimate landscape of self-discovery and self-love.
Rich and resonant, Samantha’s voice carries the weight of this dissonance with ease. “Colored” is a powerful introspection on the tension between external perceptions and self-image. The title itself is a play on words, and deftly references both her racial identity and the reality of living with the portraits that others have painted of us. It exalts our enduring need for self-determination to a place of honor and emerges as a declaration in bold support of its lyrical thesis: emboldening ourselves–and one another–to pick our own palettes is an act of love.