Langham Creek High School graduate Sam Simmons posts music as SamTheBoi at www.soundcloud.com/samistheboi.[/caption]

Houston is home to well-respected rappers, such as Pimp C, Travis Scott and Scarface. Sam Simmons, a Cypress resident and 2017 Langham Creek High School graduate, aims to be the next rapper from the city with positive lyrics and dedication.

Simmons, whose rap name is SamTheBoi, began to gain traction with his rap career with the release of his first project, “Good Energy,” on the music-sharing website Soundcloud in March. Simmons said he began rapping as a hobby but soon decided to make it his priority after graduating from high school.

“My junior year in high school, I started freestyling at parties,” Simmons said. “Everyone was hyping me up about it. Then I finally started making music my senior year, taking it seriously and releasing stuff and writing and getting into production.”

Simmons uses several recording studios in the Greater Houston area to create tracks as well as home studios of local producers, including Nodfather—Simmons’ friend Brandon Friend—and Barron Studios.

Simmon’s latest track is “The Mission,” which features Boston rapper Cam Meekins and local Houston artist Lil Kane.

Recently, Simmons has begun recording a large portion of his songs at Friend’s house, which offers close proximity and the requisite equipment. In the studio, Friend said he samples vinyl for instrumentals, builds beats for the artists and masters records after they are recorded.

Simmons said he records his songs using a microphone in a soundproofed closet.

“I like it more than recording in other studios,” Simmons said. “I have more control, and sometimes the engineers [at other studios] have a different style.”

Logan Kliafas, Simmons’ friend and fellow Langham Creek graduate, said Simmons’ first song was a playful effort between the two to celebrate their baseball team—the Langham Creek Lobos—making it to the state tournament.

“We made a little song for our friends,” he said. “That’s what really got him into it. He sounded like he really liked doing it.”

Simmons said popular hip-hop artists, such as Mac Miller, A$AP Rocky and Logic, have inspired his lyrics and message. He said he would like to work with Houston artist Tedy Andreas, who reposted his extended play album after it dropped.

“My favorite artist is Mac Miller—he’s definitely my biggest influence,” Simmons said. “I’m going to try to work with Cam Meekins again, maybe Skizzy Mars and people like that.”

Since graduating, he has dedicated time to his music, performing his first live show in Houston in June.

“It opens up a lot of my time to make moves in the music scene for sure,” Simmons said. “I’m going to take a few classes at community college, but music’s the main goal. That’s the main focus.”

Kliafas said Simmons’s rap career has a bright future.

“I think Sam is incredibly smart in how he markets his music and how he distributes it,” he said. “Sam found the right connections, and he’s making moves to get his music heard. I think with his intelligence and how he outsources it, Sam can do as much as Sam wants to do.”