The second single for 2019 from Imani Coppola. Stream or download at https://smarturl.it/ImaniCoppola
"'SAMO' is essentially an imagined friendship with [celebrated graffiti artist Jean-Michel] Basquiat throughout the decades," explains Coppola. "As the world was changing, I imagined how he and his art would’ve been affected had he thrived in a different time. I also managed to use his tag name 'SAMO', which is a short version of “Same ol’ bullsh**â€, to cynically state that nothing ever really changes in American society, it only gets stupider and we’re becoming more accustomed to accepting that as the new normal."
Citing her genre-jumping musical palette, Coppola explains, “It’s always been difficult for a label to figure out what the hell to do with me.†Thus for her - a singer, violinist, songwriter, and producer who scored a Top 40 pop hit with her major label debut “Legend of a Cowgirlâ€, it’s a welcome return to the label that helped her cultivate her creativity and launched her career, IPECAC RECORDINGS. Headed by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton (Faith No More, Tomahawk, Dead Cross), Ipecac’s roster (which includes releases from Daughters, Eagles of Death Metal, Martina Topley Bird, and Ennio Morricone) is equally as diverse as Coppola's music. “I don’t do just one thing. I do everything. That’s no exaggeration,†she continues. “If anyone could understand and appreciate that approach it would be Mike Patton who has been ‘in every band on the planet’ and maybe a few from Jupiter.â€
Gearing up to release more music this Summer, Coppola intends to wake everyone up – both conscientiously and musically. "I want them to feel shaken, moved, rattled, I want them to feel their own importance in life, I want them to hear their own voice more clearly in their hearts. I want them to be more in touch with their truth, I want them to be kinder to others, I want them to be kinder to themselves. I want them to know they are not alone. And if they think they’re crazy, they’re in a good place. It’s the ones who don’t think they’re crazy you gotta worry about."
"SAMO" Lyrics
It was the Summer of '79
I met a boy in the scene on the Lower East Side
We scribbled words on the walls
Spraypainted the town
Hip Hop, Punk Rock. bottoms upside down
The Bronx was burning and the city was turning in its grave
Beats were breaking, bombed D trains scraping through the tunnel to the fright of day
It was the SAMO (same old)
It was the Autumn 2006
CBGBs closed the curtain final act Patti Smith
Towers collapsed, the compact disc was obsolete
Boredom is the birthplace of creativity
He stayed in his bedroom with his MacBook Pro
9/11’s Great Recession dwarfed the planet Pluto
Stop and Frisk raised the risk for mainly Blacks and Latinos
It was the SAMO (same old)
It was the Summer 2019
He was a content creator who blew up on IG
Hash tag fame, internet celebrity
Made a million dollars mining crypto currency
And the world was trolling for American to become great again
Guns were polling, Kanye West was running for President
It was the SAMO (same old)