After a year's break from songwriting, singer Sammy Johnson (Ngāti Raukawa) has just released his new song, Someday. It reveals some of the toughest challenges he's faced over these recent years that have gone by.
A voice that has been absent from the music scene for quite sometime. But he has returned with a new single that talks about challenges that he recently encountered that were all too familiar for him.
"For the last sort of three and a half years I've been fighting to get ownership over my music again.
“And so these are songs that I've written in high school you know, and it came so natural and they've been with me for years.
"You sign these record deals, and you release your music, and everything is a go and you're moving fast."
Sammy says it was him being naive in regards to the music industry that created unnecessary setbacks in his career. From those setbacks he found himself in a dark place in his life.
"It really messed with me. On every form of my artistry, on the business level, on the booking level trust, it just messed with me so badly.
"From there were so many other stupid things that I did because I was hurt."
But after three years, he has overcome what seemed to be a nightmare that he has finally woken up from. His latest single elaborates on those experiences:
"A lot of money was lost but I've been able to obtain 100% of my original songs from it was mainly from prelude, that EP and the second one and so I finally own all that now."
At one stage the popular reggae-soul singer wanted to give up. But instead he took into consideration the reason why he started. Sammie Johnson has taken those learning curves and has turned them into blessings.
"The higher you get in any industry, you have to understand, that the bigger your team gets.
“So when you have a team, you’re paying for these peoples’ mortgages and their children.
"You know all about these things, that's happening with them as well and so if I give up then I'm essentially screwing up all these people."
He adds regardless of what has happened in the past, for this new decade Sammy wants to continue making music that he hopes will impact and inspire.
"I haven't had a break from last year and we're in a new year, lets put it that way, but I love it.
"I just finished 57 shows back to back in the U.S and then I came back straight before Christmas and I'm still touring."
He now looks towards creating his very first album which he said is long overdue, and he wants to in the near future tour around New Zealand.