K-Quick Talks: Opening for Legends, Building Legacy, and Staying Rooted in the DMV
January 5, 2026
Kicking off my first interview is DMV based rapper K-Quick
R&B singer Sammie recently shared with some of his counterparts for an interesting Versuz. While I was well above the age demographic when Sammie made his debut in 1999, he has always had a capable singing voice.
During my 2006 deployment, I picked up the singer’s second album and began to take him seriously, as his vocals had matured. Despite having positive critical feedback and production from the likes of Dallas Austin, Dre & Vidal, Bryan Michael Cox, and Daron Jones, the album went unnoticed by the masses.
Nevertheless, Sammie decided to go the indie route and has released five mixtapes, two additional albums, and six EPs in the last sixteen years. One of those EP’S, I’m Him is this week’s pick for Second Listen Sunday. Hitting streaming platforms on November 16, 2016, the project opens up with the track “Better,” which finds Sammie crooning about how’s he superior to a lady’s current man.
Despite some R&B thuggery in the lyrics, Sammie makes the song work with his vocal register. The cut-above vibe continues with the next track and the EP’S title song. Hearing the first two songs, I get the feeling that Sammie is not only calling out weak men but fellow singers who are not on his level vocally.
Sammie changes it up with “I Want You,” an infectious BOP that avoids vulgarity and allows the singer to express how he feels. “Sheets” will please nineties R&B fans with its angelic production and finger snaps. “The Wait” has an autobiographical vibe where Sammie sings about finally earning the love of a childhood crush as a man. Kudos to the singer for doing a Jodeci-inspired run in this song.
I’m Him closes out with the sensual slow jam “Bedroom Music,” where Sammie’s vocals deliver on the title. Sammie does have a few crass lyrics in the song, but he never goes into the corniness that some nineties singers did around the same time.
Sammie may have never reached the level of some of his peers from a sales point. However, I commend the singer for staying true to his vision and constantly releasing music his way. I’m Him is a stronger EP than some major label projects released in the same year and worth revisiting.
Final Grade: B+
I’m Him is available on all streaming platforms
Kicking off my first interview is DMV based rapper K-Quick
On the morning of February 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis walked into a mortgage office in Indianapolis convinced the system had finally turned on him. What followed was one of the most unsettling media spectacles of the decade: a 63-hour hostage standoff in which Kiritsis literally wired a sawed-off shotgun to both his victim’s neck and his own chest. It was desperation theater, broadcast live, raw and ugly, and fueled by a man who believed grievance was the same thing as righteousness.
Eric Benét’s holiday album, “It’s Christmas”, finds the four-time Grammy nominee embracing comfort rather than challenge. He delivers a collection that is impeccably sung and tastefully arranged, though it ultimately feels a bit too cautious for an artist of his talent and history.