Sam I Am: “Creativity is my juice”

Samatha Hinds
Samatha Hinds

Samantha Hinds, also known as Sam I Am Montolla is a singer/songwriter and dancer from Montreal.

Her roots are a Trinidad – Barbados combination, and she says that music was always part of her life. She was dancing since the age of 3 at West Indian cultural events.

“SamI Am”started jazz ballet at the age of 5 but found her passion for Hip Hop dancing when she was about 8 years old. She has been in the Hip Hop dance group Too Small To Catch, and, in her teenage years, with the Elite Troupe, which is choreographed by Angelo Ameur. She worked in the first Hip Hop dance show project Retrospek from 2006 to 2010 with Alexandra “Spicey” Lande as artistic director.

Samis part of the Canadian chapter of Imperial House of Waacking. She has won Bust A Move Competition 2006, 2008, and 2014; Family Affair 2 2013  Le Mini RendezVous in Paris 2014, Ladies of Hip Hop NY 2014 and Step Ya Game Up 2015 NY in Hip Hop; Waacking and All-Styles and judged competitions in Montreal and Taiwan.  She was also nominated for the GadFly Urban Dance Awards in Toronto 2015. She currently teaches Waacking, and Hip Hop.

For the love of performing and music, she has always ventured into different areas of performance. She has been in the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir for the past 6 years, as well as the Gospel Trio, Revelation III, directed by Trevor W. Payne. This is where she says she got to experience music in its purest form. S

As a singer/songwriter of R&B music, she draws her influences from a wide array of artists like Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, to Jill Scott. She is working on her own creations and is a part of the Kalmunity Vibe Collective, an improvisation band which consists of various musicians, poets, and singers based in Montreal.

Sam I Am has performed in Montreal venuessuch as Intimate Sky, Madpoetix, the Montreal Reggae Festival 2009, Chocolate Jungle, and was featured artist on The Songwriter’s Association of Canada’s website in December 2012. She has worked with Dabridge Productions and is currently working with Shash’U (Fool’s Gold). You can view her video “Show Ya Light”.

She has released her EP called “Made Her”, showcasing her growth and influences from RnB, Hip Hop and Funk. She is also featured in “Acknowledgement”, a new mixtape by Jai Nitai.

In her quiet moments, she enjoys reading and writing. From a very young age, she wrote poetry, short stories and creative writing, something that has helped her song writing tremendously. She was part of L.O.V.E. (Leave OutViolencE), in high school and has had her works published in the school’s newspaper. Also,while still in high school,her works were publishedin Creative Writing Works, an English School Board of Montreal publication. While at Vanier College her piece “Soundings 2003” featured in that school’s publication.  She also writes regularly on her blog 5-20inthemorning.com .

Sam I Am’s passion is to express herself in song and verse. She proclaims that “Creativity is my juice”. And through it, she shares her love, passion, and knowledge with those around her and within earshot. For inspiration, she stays tuned in to the world around her.