Samuel T. Herring

Samuel Thompson Herring (born April 13, 1984),^[2] also known as Hemlock Ernst,^[3] is an American singer, rapper and actor from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known as the frontman of the synth-pop band Future Islands, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums.^[4] He has also previously been a member of Art Lord & the Self-Portraits,^[5] The Snails,^[6] and Trouble Knows Me.^[7]

Samuel T. Herring
Herring in 2015
Background information
Birth name	Samuel Thompson Herring^[1]
Also known as	Hemlock Ernst
Born	(1984-04-13) April 13, 1984 (age 40) Carteret County, North Carolina, U.S.
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Genres	Synthpop hip hop alternative rock indie pop
Occupations	Rapper singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Madlib Invazion Ruby Yacht
Partner(s)	Kelly Marcel

In 2023, Herring starred in the Apple TV+ horror fantasy television series, The Changeling, alongside LaKeith Stanfield and Adina Porter.

Early life

Born in Carteret County, North Carolina, Herring grew up in Newport^[8] and Morehead City.^[4] He has 1/4 roots from the Philippines, from his mother's side.^[9] He began rapping at age 14 at freestyle battles and cyphers.^[10] In 2002, he enrolled at East Carolina University.^[11] Herring is a keen soccer fan and an avid supporter of Everton F.C.^[12]

Career

In 2003, while attending East Carolina University, Herring and other colleagues started the performance art band Art Lord & the Self-Portraits, which lasted until 2005.^[13] Some of its former members started Future Islands in 2006, and the band relocated to Baltimore, Maryland in 2008.^[13] In 2013,^[14] Herring took a break from the band's touring in order to spend more time on his solo rap project, writing more, and doing more shows.^[13]

Parallel to Future Islands, Herring continued rapping either solo, under the moniker Hemlock Ernst, or with his brother as Flesh Epic.^[15] Hemlock was his original writing name on an on-line music board when he was in the 9th grade, from a poem he wrote about Socrates taking the hemlock poison.^[16] Ernst comes from his character in Art Lord & the Self-Portraits who was named Locke Ernst-Frost: a reference to the religious poet John Locke, the artist Max Ernst, and the American poet Robert Frost.^[16]

In 2015, Hemlock Ernst teamed up with producer Madlib for a new rap project called Trouble Knows Me.^[17][18] Entirely produced by Madlib, the self-titled EP was released via Madlib Invazion on September 1, 2015.^[19][20] It was pre-sold at Madlib's show at The Mid in Chicago, Illinois on July 17, 2015, as well as Rappcats' website and a Rappcats popup shop.^[21][22] On March 24, 2016, British musician Four Tet sat in for Benji B on BBC Radio 1 and played "Rings in the Coffee", an unreleased track by Trouble Knows Me.^[23][24]

On October 25, 2019, he released a rap album, Back at the House, via Ruby Yacht under the moniker Hemlock Ernst.^[25][26] It was entirely produced by Kenny Segal.^[27]

In June 2022, Deadline^[28] announced Herring had joined the cast of the Apple+ series The Changeling; Season 1 of the show premiered in September 2023, in which Herring made his acting debut as William Wheeler.

On September 29, 2023 the Hemlock Ernst album The Fall Collection was released on the Alpha Pup label. Produced by Height Keech.

Discography

Studio albums

• Back at the House (2019) (with Kenny Segal, as Hemlock Ernst & Kenny Segal)^[29][30]

EPs

• Trouble Knows Me (2015) (with Madlib, as Trouble Knows Me)^[31]

Singles

• "Down" (2019) (with Kenny Segal, as Hemlock Ernst & Kenny Segal)^[32][33]

Guest appearances as Samuel T. Herring

• Double Dagger — "The Lie/The Truth" from More (2009)^[34]
• Microkingdom — "I'm on Fire" (2012)^[35]
• Beth Jeans Houghton — "Pelican Canyon" (2014)^[36]
• Du Blonde — "Mind Is on My Mind" from Welcome Back to Milk (2015)^[37]
• Gangrene — "Play It Cool" from Welcome to Los Santos (2015)^[38][39]
• BadBadNotGood — "Time Moves Slow" from IV (2016)^[40][41]
• Clams Casino — "Ghost in a Kiss" from 32 Levels (2016)^[42][43]
• Celebration — "Paper Trails" from Wounded Healer (2017)^[44]
• BadBadNotGood — "I Don't Know" (2017)^[45][46]
• Nina Kinert — "Chapped Lips" from Romantic (2018)^[47]
• DJ Shadow — "Our Pathetic Age" from Our Pathetic Age (2019)^[48][49]
• PBDY — "Tears or Rain" from Careworn (2019)^[50][51]
• Chaunter — "Lightning Games" from Dream Dynamics (2019)^[52]
• Kennebec — "Leaving the Canyons" (2022)^[53]
• billy woods & Kenny Segal — "Facetime" (2023)
• Amtrac - "Domino" (2023)

Guest appearances as Hemlock Ernst

• Rapdragons — "Gotta Go" from Featuring Baltimore (2010)^[54][55]
• Scallops Hotel — "Lavender Chunk" from Plain Speaking (2015)^[56][57]
• 83cutlass — "Wicked Kingdom" (2015)^[58][59]
• Milo — "Souvenir" from So the Flies Don't Come (2015)^[60]
• Busdriver — "Ministry of the Torture Couch" from Thumbs (2015)^[61][62]
• Cavanaugh — "Typecast" and "Lemons" from Time and Materials (2015)^[63][64]
• Curse ov Dialect — "Twisted Strangers" from Twisted Strangers (2016)^[65][66]
• Open Mike Eagle & Paul White — "Protectors of the Heat" from Hella Personal Film Festival (2016)^[67][68]
• Words Hurt — "This Is Where I Leave You" (2016)^[69]
• Boy Legs — "Something Out There" from Pinball Museum (2016)^[70]
• Watercolor Warewolf — "Wwhat U Wwaitin 4" from AM Nights: 92.3 the Beast (2016)^[71]
• Charge It to the Game — "Bite Me" from Urban Hall of Fame (2016)^[72][73]
• JPEGMafia — "Llama Mind" from The 2nd Amendment (2016)^[74]
• Bond St. District — "Terror Era" from A Church on Vulcan (2016)^[75]
• Drew Scott — "Porcelain" and "Dead Cupid" from Ill Vessel (2017)^[76]
• Passage — "Krang (Total Reduction Remix)" from Worked On (2017)^[77]
• Billy Woods — "Illegal Tints" (2017)^[78][79]
• Busdriver — "Tiny Infinities" from Electricity Is on Our Side (2018)^[80]
• Mister and Curt Cataract — "Approaching Land" from Approaching Land (2019)^[81]
• Blockhead — "Blue Veil" from Free Sweatpants (2019)^[82]
• R.A.P. Ferreira - "Export The Conundrum" from the truly ancient and original lefthanded styles of the hoodwinkers and penny pinchers (2019)^[83][84]

References

1. "RUNNING AWAY". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
2. Vi, Natasha (April 20, 2014). . Sound by Sight. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
3. Pelly, Jenn (March 23, 2014). "Future Islands Frontman Samuel T. Herring Is Also a Rapper, Watch Him in Action". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
4. Young, Alex (October 11, 2011). "Interview: Samuel T. Herring (of Future Islands)". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
5. Hill, Corbie (February 13, 2013). "The brief reunion of Art Lord & the Self-Portraits offers a glimpse into Greenville's former college-rock crucible". Indy Week. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
6. Minsker, Evan (February 16, 2016). "Future Islands Side Project the Snails Drop New Album Songs From the Shoebox". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
7. DeVille, Chris (July 17, 2015). "Trouble Knows Me (Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring & Madlib) – "Trouble Knows Me"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
8. Hill, Corbie (March 26, 2014). "Future Islands' international star is rising, but their roots run back to North Carolina". Indy Week. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
9. Palaganas, Jozza Alegre (February 5, 2015). "8 Things You Didn't Know About Future Islands". 8List.ph. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
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21. Murphy, Sarah (July 17, 2015). . Exclaim!. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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24. Skelton, Eric (March 25, 2016). "Four Tet Shares a new song from Madlib and Sam Herring of Future Islands". Complex. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
25. Bacior, Robin (October 25, 2019). . Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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27. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (September 26, 2019). "Future Islands' Sam Herring Announces New Rap Album, Shares Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
28. "'The Changeling': Future Islands Frontman Samuel T. Herring Joins Apple Series Cast In Acting Debut". deadline.com. June 30, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
29. "Back at the House | Hemlock Ernst and Kenny Segal". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
30. Breihan, Tom (October 30, 2019). "Hemlock Ernst, The Little Indie-Rap Side Project That Could". Stereogum. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
31. "Madlib and Future Islands' Sam Herring are Trouble Knows Me". Fact. July 17, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
32. Rettig, James (September 26, 2019). "Hemlock Ernst & Kenny Segal – "Down"". Stereogum. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
33. Haynes, Gavin (October 4, 2019). "Tracks of the week reviewed: Meghan Trainor, David Hasselhoff, Lindsay Lohan". The Guardian. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
34. Crock, Jason (May 4, 2009). "Double Dagger: More". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
35. ""Strong Enough" b/w/ "I'm on Fire" | Oxes ft. Will Oldham / Microkingdom ft. Samuel T. Herring". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
36. "'Pelican Canyon' - Beth Jeans Houghton & Samuel T Herring". YouTube. January 27, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
37. Minsker, Evan (March 31, 2015). "Du Blonde Teams With Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring on "Mind Is On My Mind"". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
38. Kaye, Ben (March 6, 2015). "Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring and Earl Sweatshirt team on "Play It Cool" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
39. Breihan, Tom (March 6, 2015). "Gangrene – "Play It Cool" (Feat. Samuel T. Herring & Earl Sweatshirt)". Stereogum. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
40. "IV | BadBadNotGood". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
41. Yoo, Noah (May 17, 2016). "BADBADNOTGOOD Announce New Album IV, Team With Future Islands' Sam Herring on "Time Moves Slow": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
42. Pearce, Sheldon (June 9, 2016). "Clams Casino Reveals 32 Levels Tracklist". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
43. Helman, Peter (July 7, 2016). "Clams Casino – "Ghost In A Kiss" (Feat. Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring) Video". Stereogum. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
44. Woolever, Lydia (August 2017). "Music Reviews: August 2017". Baltimore. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
45. Gore, Sydney (October 21, 2017). "BADBADNOTGOOD reunites with Samuel T. Herring on "I Don't Know"". The Fader. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
46. Breihan, Tom (October 20, 2017). "BADBADNOTGOOD – "I Don't Know" (Feat. Samuel T. Herring)". Stereogum. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
47. Green, Gil (May 10, 2018). "Nina Kinert – "Chapped Lips" (Feat. Samuel T. Herring) Video". Stereogum. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
48. "Our Pathetic Age | DJ Shadow". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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51. DeVille, Chris (October 30, 2019). "PBDY – "Tears Or Rain" (Feat. Samuel T. Herring) Video". Stereogum. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
52. "Dream Dynamics | Chaunter". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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54. "Featuring Baltimore | Rapdragons". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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56. "Plain Speaking | scallops hotel". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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58. "Wicked Kingdom (ft. Hemlock Ernst & Josephine Olivia)". SoundCloud. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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61. "Thumbs | Busdriver". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
62. Breihan, Tom (November 10, 2015). "Busdriver – "Ministry Of The Torture Couch" (Feat. Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring)". Stereogum. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
63. "Time & Materials | Cavanaugh (Open Mike Eagle & Serengeti)". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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67. "Hella Personal Film Festival | Open Mike Eagle & Paul White". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
68. Murray, Robin (February 5, 2016). "Open Mike Eagle x Paul White Announce New Album". Clash. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
69. "Chekhov's Gun | Words Hurt". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
70. "Pinball Museum | Boy Legs". Bandcamp. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
71. Sanchez, Tim (May 5, 2016). "Stream The New Album By Scoop Deville's Group "Watercolor Werewolf"". Raptalk.net. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
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74. "The 2nd Amendment | JPEGMAFIA". Bandcamp. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
75. "A Church On Vulcan | Bond St. District". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
76. "Ill Vessel | Drew Scott". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
77. "Worked On | Passage". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
78. "Billy Woods - Illegal Tints Ft. Hemlock Ernst". SoundCloud. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
79. Pedroche, Ben (August 15, 2017). "Premiere: billy woods – 'Illegal Tints' + Interview". Grown Up Rap. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
80. "Electricity is on our Side | Busdriver". Bandcamp. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
81. "Approaching Land | Mister and Curt Cataract". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
82. "Free Sweatpants | Blockhead". Bandcamp. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
83. "R.A.P. Ferreira - the truly ancient and original lefthanded styles of the hoodwinkers and penny pinchers Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius". Genius. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
84. "the truly ancient and original lefthanded styles of the hoodwinkers an – ruby yacht makers guild & outlet mall". Retrieved January 12, 2021.

External links

• Samuel T. Herring discography at Discogs