Samaria’s music presents a layer of vulnerability that, though thick, allows listeners to see and feel all the pain, joy, and everything in between that exists in her life. For the pain, look no further than her 2022 EP Didn’t Start With You. Her struggles in love are showcased with raw emotion through the project’s six songs as she details how failed love rocked her world. “I was purposely isolating myself from everyone so that I wouldn’t accidentally take my pain out on the wrong people,” she said at the time. “I didn’t even want to make music.”
Thankfully, the Bay Area-born singer chose to press onward, and with that comes the optimism for the future that healing from the past provides. The departure from pain and the subsequent journey towards joy live on Samaria’s new EP, Even Paradise Rains. The project marks her first release since signing a deal with RCA Records, and it grants Samaria the opportunity to start a new chapter — her brightest yet. Even Paradise Rains glimmers with the promise of better days while Samaria’s voice provides lush, velvet-like comfort as she lets go of the past in pursuit of finding the best version of herself in the future. “Best Thing For Me” details this entire process while “Forever More” highlights the search for better and “Serial Recluse” captures the departure from what once was.
Together with the upcoming release of Even Paradise Rains, Uproxx caught up with Samaria to chat about her first job at In-N-Out, her biggest fear, and her love for SZA and Euphoria in our debut Uproxx Music 20 Q&A.
What is your earliest memory of music?
Being in the car with my dad when I was a kid, he turned on “Where I Wanna Be” by Donell Jones. It was my first time hearing it and I really wanted to impress him, so I started singing along with the hook. He looked back at me from the driver’s seat with a proud look on his face, turned the music down, and told me to sing it louder. That was the first time I think my dad realized I actually had a voice. It’s a cool memory that stuck with me.
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
My grandma, nobody’s ever pushed me to be great like she did.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
The piano & the basics of guitar. I’m super rusty. The goal this year is to pick the guitar back up.
What was your first job?
In-N-Out Burger in San Francisco when I was 16. They’re super strict about not having tattoos, so I hid my finger tattoo, but a coworker saw it a few weeks later and ratted on me to the manager. Shortest job I’ve ever had.
What is your most prized possession?
My grandmother’s ring. I’ve kept it with me since she passed.
What is your biggest fear?
It used to be failing and having everyone laugh at me. Life taught me that failure is inevitable, and I’ve had people laugh at me, it’s actually not so bad. Now, my biggest fear is dying before I get the chance to see my dreams come to fruition.
Who is on your R&B Mt. Rushmore?
Lauryn Hill, Frank Ocean, SZA, and Shiloh Dynasty.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
Frank Ocean, SZA, Shiloh Dynasty, Lauryn Hill, and Labrinth. I’d hold it in Hawaii and make it a secret location on the island. You’d have to be formally invited and flown out like in the Scooby Doo movie.
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
I’m throwing the biggest beach bonfire/surf party with unlimited BBQ. I’m hiring ocean waiters to bring food out to those of us waiting on set waves – to hand feed us so we don’t have to get out of the water.
What are your three most used emojis?
What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?
SZA. For sure. I can retire a happy camper. That pen is just… vicious. The only artist that makes me push myself to write better.
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
Euphoria, obviously. It’s just shot so beautifully, and I think I could match the energy of the show. It would feel natural.
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
Beyoncé. She does her job with love and care then she lives her life in privacy to protect her peace and the things that she worked hard to build.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
The fact that nobody on this earth is responsible for your happiness, no matter how much you may love each other, nobody can give you that satisfaction but you.
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
The answer to this question is constantly ever-changing… Right now it’s “Bleed” by Kid Laroi. Next week it’ll be something different.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
Right now, it’s Philly and Toronto! I’ve never had that type of love shown they have my heart forever. I really want to perform in the UK. Anywhere in the UK would be sick, sick.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
Definitely starting a family and raising my kids in Hawaii, surfing every day. Also, would be acting, that’s a big dream of mine.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
Five years into the future. I’m a super impatient person so I need to make sure all this work I’m putting in is going to pay off.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Stop trippin’. Everything’s gonna be aight kid.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I’d like to be remembered as the artist who healed all the broken hearts when the world needed her most. I’d also hope that the young producers in 2050 sample me like crazy.
Even Paradise Rains is out 1/12 via RCA Records. Find out more information here.