User:Edward.sun94/Sam Ock

Samuel Ock, more widely known as simply Sam Ock, is a Korean American singer, songwriter, and producer. To date, he has released two studio albums and two EPs as a solo artist, a collaborative hymn LP, and two albums as one-third of the Christian Hip hop trio AMP. Between projects, the musician has also worked on various singles, covers, and guest appearances.

In 2014, Ock co-founded independent record label Good Fruit Co with labelmates J. Han and CL, and is currently on the label's artist roster as both a solo performer and a member of AMP.

Personal Life
Samuel Ock was raised, and currently resides, in Ellicott City, Maryland. He attended University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he studied Music Technology.

Musical Beginnings
Ock's mother was a classical Opera singer who earned a Masters in Vocal Performance from Seoul University in South Korea. Ock also had musical experience learning piano and singing hymns during his involvement at a local church, where he is still involved today. He believed that musical talent was universal until he watched the television singing competition American Idol for the first time. Upon seeing the show's auditioning process, Ock realized the uniqueness of his own talent and reportedly said, "Wow, I didn't know that people couldn't sing."

In high school, Ock learned to play the guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard. He began recording his own music with the help of a friend and eventually familiarized himself with music creation software FL Studio, which he eventually used to produce a great majority of his music. Shortly afterwards, the multi-talented musician began searching for and collaborating with various kinds of musical artists.

Early Career (2008-2010)
Sam Ock's musical career began when he released his first original composition via YouTube on May 29, 2008. As Ock uploaded more videos to his YouTube channel, he began slowly earning more notoriety before his eighth upload, "Never Change," which was a collaboration with current labelmate J. Han. The music video performance of "Never Change" quickly garnered over 1 million views, jumpstarting the artist's musical career.

Soon after the release of "Never Change," Ock joined efforts with rappers J. Han and CL to create Christian Hip Hop collective AMP. in 2009. The group's first single, "See You in Heaven," released on November 5, 2009 via Ock's YouTube channel, was warmly received with over 100,000 views.

Shortly afterwards, Ock released collaborative pieces with successful YouTube musicians Esna Yoon,  Dumbfoundead,   and Clara C. The collaborations eventually earned over 15,000, 35,000, and 225,000 views respectively. The musician has, since then, consistently released videos and continued building his online viewership through 2015.

In the summer of 2010, the songwriter entered the 2010 Breakout Performers Contest hosted by JCPenney in partnership with Wong Fu Productions. With over 180,000 views, Ock won the contest after two rounds narrowed down the number of contestants from over fifty to only ten. He was awarded with the opportunity to perform in Los Angeles as part of the International Secret Agents tour.

2011-12: Simple Steps and Rest Easy EP
On August 10, 2011, Sam Ock released his debut studio album, titled Simple Steps. The album features eleven tracks, with guest appearances from vocalists Seung Hyun, Skim, Clara C,  and rapper Lyricks. Ock released accompanying music video performances for the singles "Rollercoaster," "Beautiful People," "Love," "Greenshades," and "Little Light" from the album.

In late 2012, Ock released a six-song EP titled Rest Easy EP. The EP was released on October 10, 2012 and featured guest appearances from rappers Gowe, J. Han, and Manifest. A music video was released for the title track "Rest Easy," the day before the release was available for purchase. Track 7, from the release, "New Sights," was featured on Christian Hip Hop outlet Rapzilla.

2013-14: Move EP and Stages
The following year, the musician released a seven-track EP titled Move EP on November 22, 2013. Accompanying music videos were released for the songs "Every Moment," "Moving On," and "Here I Go" from the release. The "Every Moment" music video was featured on Christian Hip Hop outlet Rapzilla shortly after its release.

On March 12, 2014, Sam Ock released Stages, a full-length LP made up of the Move EP, 4 tracks from the Rest Easy EP, one previously released standalone single, and a remix of "Here I Go." Within a few days of its release, Stages reached #1 on the iTunes Store's Hip-Hop/Rap charts in Japan.

Also in 2014, Ock performed in Seoul, South Korea as a member of the artist lineup in the Grand Mint Festival, a large-scale Korean music festival.

2015: GREY
Sam Ock released his second full-length studio album, titled GREY, on January 2, 2015. The album was featured by Korean digital retailers Melon and Naver, Christian hip hop outlet Rapzilla, and Christian publication Reel Gospel.

Studio Releases

 * Simple Steps (2011)
 * Rest Easy EP (2012)
 * Move EP (2013)
 * GREY (2015)

Collaborative Albums

 * Laus Deo (with John Rhee) (2014)