Photo Credit | José Ginarte
Bio:
SAMMUS (Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo) is a rap artist and producer from Ithaca, NY with a PhD in science and technology studies from Cornell University. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Brown in the music department. Since 2010 Sammus has written, produced, and recorded three full-length albums (one of which has charted on Billboard), three EPs, a collaborative video-game themed concept album with the MC Mega Ran, a critically acclaimed beat tape, and countless one-off collaborations with artists from a variety of genres as well as video game developers, podcasters, and filmmakers. Her story as an artist at the intersections of academia and Afrofuturism has led to performances and speaking engagements at a range of conferences, conventions, festivals and campus events. Her live shows, characterized by her explosive energy and the inclusion of elements of cosplay, bring together a diverse array of activists, hip hop heads, punks, and self-identified nerds and geeks, among others. As noted by the Los Angeles Times, Sammus “has a gift for getting a message across.”
“She’s as likely to rap about phosphates and integers as she is to name-check Serena Williams or Emmitt Till. Her delivery is piercing, her perspective refreshing.” – Pitchfork
“Layered over her beats is a potent flow that allows every word to sink in. Her verses are honest, about the parts of our world that viscerally impact her: institutional whiteness, Black lives, dope friends, and cartoons, to name a few.” – The FADER
“There’s a reason that she is invited to speak at technology conferences or teach online classes on structuring rhymes in hip-hop songs. She has a gift for getting a message across.” – LA Times
“A striking, chameleonic beatmaker and MC” – NJTimes, “Don Giovanni’s 7 Best Bands”
“I couldn’t help geeking out at a few of her lyrics, rife with video game and rap references” – The Mary Sue
“never have power-ups been such a measure of female independence” – Austin Chronicle
“a talented songstress” – Bitch Magazine
“a perfect combination of smart and smooth” – Bandcamp Staff Picks
S ∆ M M U S | PHD 