Straight outta Dorset: Introducing Sam Hurst

When I was sent a self recorded song by a care home in Sturminster Newton I wasn’t expecting it to be good. Pleasantly surprised by the tune, I came across Sam Hurst. Little did I know, he is an established hip-hop artist with six singles on Spotify.

I caught up with Sam to talk about his music, how TikTok is running the industry, and what it is like to be a hip-hop artist in rural Dorset.

“I was studying at Wiltshire College when I got into hip-hop and R&B. At the time I loved Ed Sheeran and folk music, but then a friend introduced me to Tom Misch. I found out he produces all his own music, so I bought a music making software called Logic and taught myself how to use it.”

Sam has been playing music since the age of nine when his Dad taught him his first few cords on the guitar. “I did music grades and it’s just gone from there really. Music is in my family, my Mum and sister are both in musical theatre and my Dad has always been in bands,” says Sam.

Byrson Tiller is a big influence for Sam, who describes his sound as R&B hip-hop. “I would assume that people who haven’t heard my stuff before would say it is pop but I don’t really class myself as that.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Like a country singer in Compton, being a hip-hop artist in Dorset must be pretty tough, but how has it affected Sam’s career?

“Some people say you can’t do this genre because you are from the countryside, but R&B hits me in a different way to folk music. I don’t see myself being here until the day I die. I want to be surrounded by people with the same kind of mindset.”

Sam tells me he thinks living in a little town makes it harder to break into the industry, compared to those who live in big cities like London or Manchester. “I don’t want to say it is easier because you still have to graft just as much as the next person, but in the city you have more access to studios. I have to travel 3-4 hours to get somewhere like that,” says Sam.

Being in Dorset hasn’t stopped him from getting his music out there. In January, Sam’s latest tune, ‘Fine China’, was aired on Radio Solent by BBC Introducing.

“It felt so good to get Fine China on BBC Introducing. It was my first song to be played on the radio so I was buzzing about it.”

While the pandemic has slowed down Sam’s music releases, he tells me there is music in the making. “I am planning on doing an EP with around 6/7 songs.”

Noticing that only the first few songs on EPs are getting the plays these days, Sam and I share the opinion that music is no longer appreciated in album form. “It’s a known fact that the attention span is decreasing, people aren’t listening to full-blown albums anymore.

“TikTok has ruined music. Artists are only creating music that is going to blow up on TikTok. I want to do it more organically, not just have one viral song that people only know 15 seconds of.”

Check out Sam on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3FmpMjyVkZ96BQ7AorEJA4

@samhurst_