The Bullitts

Life and career

Samuel initially embarked on a career in filmmaking, having shot his first reels at the age of eight. However he began making music at the age of 13. In the year 2000, he released "When It Rains", his debut single in the form of a 12", under his real name on Giant Step Records. On 1 January 2002, in conjunction with Little League Productions, he released Urban Folk Music: The Prequel. That same year, he contributed background vocals on the song "The Proud", from American rapper Talib Kweli's debut album, Quality. In 2004, he wrote "Serenade", for Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini's 2005 album Fisherman's Woman. Little League Productions later debuted Samuel's new moniker and released his single "The Bullitts Theme" in 2007.

In 2009, Samuel wrote and co-produced three songs on fellow British singer Mr Hudson's album Straight No Chaser, namely "Straight No Chaser", "Everything Is Broken" (featuring Kid Cudi) and "Time”. In March 2010, he joined a choir called The Purple, The People, The Plastic Eating People. The choir contributed background vocals on the songs "Some Kind of Nature" (featuring Lou Reed) and "Pirate Jet", from the third album by Gorillaz, Plastic Beach (2010).

In 2010, Samuel began uploading "FlixTapes" to YouTube under the pseudonym The Bullitts, named in honour of the 1968 film Bullitt; this was a series of videos in which he added new vocals to his favourite movie and television themes. The first episode, titled "Tales of the Unexpected", was released on 14 November 2010.

"Close Your Eyes", the lead single from his then-upcoming album, premiered in April 2011. The single features narration by American actress Lucy Liu and a verse from American rapper Jay Electronica. Its music video is a re-imagining of the Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel film, Un Chien Andalou. In May 2011, the album's second single, "Landspeeder", was released. "Landspeeder" was later included on the original motion picture soundtrack to the British 2011 slasher film Demons Never Die.

He issued "Weirdo" in July 2011, a short piece starring Jesse Williams. In it, two young lovers in paper-bag masks spend a day on the streets of London before robbing a newsagents during a declaration of love. For the song "Run and Hide", by Jay Electronica, he directed a film noir in Paris, based around the actress Elisa Lasowski. Samuel played at The Big Chill music festival on 6 August 2011; he was joined onstage by Liu, Electronica and English actor Idris Elba.

The album's third single, titled "Supercool", was premiered on Lowe's show on 4 October 2011. Its accompanying music video featured he dressed as a homeless individual being harassed by someone filming him against his will; during this he bumps into actress Rosario Dawson, and the pair end up having a dance off on the streets of Soho. In 2011, he wrote "Wonderful Life", alongside Estelle Swaray, for Swaray's third album All of Me (2012). In late 2012, he was handpicked by Baz Luhrmann and Jay-Z to be Executive Music Consultant for the soundtrack to the film The Great Gatsby (2013).

In early 2013, Samuel wrote, directed and scored the short film titled They Die By Dawn, with an all star cast that includes Michael K. Williams, Erykah Badu, Isaiah Washington, Jesse Williams and Rosario Dawson. The film is set in Langston, Oklahoma in 1890 and is a gun-slinging, black cowboy western. Samuel's first album under the moniker The Bullitts, is titled They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories... and was released on 9 July 2013. The album was produced entirely by himself and features guest appearances from Jay Electronica, Lucy Liu, Mos Def, Rosario Dawson, Doxi Jones and Tori Amos.

In 2021, he directed and co-wrote The Harder They Fall, a revisionist western starring Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, and RJ Cyler. The film, which was initially titled The Notorious Nine, was in development for several years.

In 2022, Netflix announced that Samuel will direct the feature film adaptation of Irredeemable and Incorruptible. In March 2022, it was announced American musician Kid Cudi would direct a film titled Teddy, which would be executive produced by Samuel, alongside Jay-Z and James Lassiter.

Artistry

Samuel is on record saying “As a musician, I've always regarded myself as, at root, a folk musician. My voice and my acoustic guitar.” There is a cinematic element to his music and he has created a short film to accompany most of his releases.

In a November 2021 interview, Samuel said “My influences musically go back further than time itself. If I'm outside the house, I'm listening to Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep and Jay-Z and Nas. If I'm inside the house, I'm listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne. So my brain is always cooking everything together in both film and music and drawing from all of my influences, and bringing them into the present.”

Personal life

Samuel's older brother is Henry Samuel, better known as Seal. His mother, Adebisi Ogundeji, is Nigerian, and his father, Francis Samuel, is Afro-Brazilian.

Discography

The discography of The Bullitts consists of one studio album, three soundtrack album, one extended play (EP), one mixtape and nine singles.

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

Guest appearances

Notes

Production discography

Filmography

Films

Music videos

;As lead artist

;As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. TheBullittsTV. (14 November 2010). "THE BULLITTS & PASSION PIT- TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED – The FlixTape. EPISODE 1".
2. Cochrane, Greg. "Introducing…The Bullitts". BBC.
3. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/zanelowe/2011/05/hottest_record_-_the_bullitts.html "Hottest Record – The Bullitts – Landspeeder"] 3 May 2011, BBC web site
4. NME. "NME Bullitts article". NME.
5. "Album Search for "demons never die original motion picture soundtrack"".
6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skG4rjoJ-l0 "The Bullitts – Weirdo"] 8 July 2011, Youtube
7. [https://www.complex.com/music/2011/07/video-the-bullitts-jay-electronica-run-hide-short-film "The Bullitts & Jay Electronica "Run & Hide""] 28 July 2011, Complex web site
8. [http://www.virtualfestivals.com/latest/news/11278 "The Bullitts debut at The Big Chill 2011"] {{Webarchive. link. (12 January 2015 4 August 2011, Virtual Festivals web site)
9. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/zanelowe/2011/10/hottest_record_-_the_bullitts_1.html "Hottest Record – The Bullitts – Supercool"] 4 October 2011, BBC web site
10. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSsYwd5REEI&list=UUIrvXVjDoDbAbXc7QvwhthQ&index=1&feature=plcp "The Bullitts – Supercool"] 4 January 2012, Youtube
11. Ramirez, Erika. (31 December 2012). "Jay-Z, The Bullitts to Score 'The Great Gatsby'".
12. (29 April 2013). "Beyonce's 'Back To Black' Helps Make 'The Great Gatsby' A Bit 'Darker'". MTV News.
13. (22 March 2013). "Song Premiere: The Bullitts Merges Country to Hip-Hop in 'They Die By Dawn'".
14. "They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories – Album by The Bullitts". [[Apple Inc..
15. Obenson, Tambay. (13 November 2021). "'The Harder They Fall': 6 Other Films to Watch If You Liked Netflix's Black Western".
16. Perine, Aaron. (17 March 2022). "Netflix Producing Irredeemable & Incorruptible Superhero Movie". Comicbook.com.
17. (22 March 2022). "Kid Cudi to Write, Direct and Star in Netflix's 'Teddy,' Produced by Jeymes Samuel and Jay-Z".
18. (9 November 2021). "Director Jeymes Samuel on the often ignored history of Black cowboys".
19. (2 November 2021). "'The Harder They Fall': 3 reasons why the Idris Elba starrer cannot be missed".
20. (15 June 2015). "Biz Markie, Masta Ace to Kick off Summerstage Performances at von King Park in Bed-Stuy". BK Reader.
21. (2 January 2013). "Jay-Z and Seal's Brother Score 'The Great Gatsby'".
22. Greiving, Tim. (2024-01-10). "Jeymes Samuel is writing — and directing and singing — his own Hollywood gospel".
23. (17 January 2022). "Roc Nation & Geneva Club Release 'The Harder They Fall' Original Score".
24. (17 January 2022). "The Book of Clarence (Original Motion Picture Score) by Jeymes Samuel". [[Apple Music]].
25. (17 January 2022). "The Book of Clarence (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Jeymes Samuel". [[Apple Music]].
26. (8 April 2012). "Supercool – EP by The Bullitts". [[Apple Inc..
27. "Album Search for "the prequel"".
28. (6 December 2023). "Jeymes Samuel – When It Rains".
29. (6 December 2023). "Jeymes Samuel – Who Write The Songs".
30. "Jeymes Samuel – Baby Don't Cry / Winterfall".
31. (28 May 2006). "The Myspace Song – Single by Jeymes Samuel". [[Apple Inc..
32. (6 December 2023). "The Bullitts – The Bullitts Theme".
33. (3 April 2011). "Close Your Eyes – EP by The Bullitts". [[Apple Inc..
34. (3 May 2011). ""Landspeeder" – Single by The Bullitts". [[Apple Inc..
35. (8 April 2012). "Supercool – EP by The Bullitts". [[Apple Inc..
36. (25 June 2012). ""World Inside Your Rainbow" – Single by The Bullitts". [[Apple Inc..
37. "Giant Step Records Sessions, Vol. 1 – Ron Trent – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic".
38. (25 September 2006). "Various – Fight The Power".
39. (17 September 2006). "Yam Who Revue by Yam Who? on Apple Music".
40. "Album Search for "walk tall kick ass love music"".
41. (6 December 2023). "Various – Help George Tabb! Vol. 1".
42. (26 May 2009). "Loss 4 Wordz by Scratch". [[iTunes]].
43. (30 July 2012). "Kanye West, Jay-Z, Diddy to appear on Jay Electronica's long-awaited debut album".
44. (8 April 2015). "Erykah Badu's Film "They die by Dawn" is Exclusively Streaming on Tidal Right Now".
45. (22 December 2017). "Jay Z "Legacy" Starring Susan Sarandon, Ron Perlman, Jesse Williams! (Short Film)".
46. (2 December 2010). "THE BULLITTS starring JAY ELECTRONICA & LUCY LIU- CLOSE YOUR EYES".
47. (18 July 2011). "The Bullitts - Weirdo".
48. (18 January 2012). "The Bullitts - Supercool (Starring Rosario Dawson)".
49. (15 August 2011). "The Bullitts - Landspeeder (Official Video)".
50. (31 August 2011). "The Bullitts - Those Silly Names".
51. (26 June 2012). "The Bullitts - World Inside Your Rainbow".
52. "Video: The Bullitts & Jay Electronica "Run & Hide" (Short Film)".
53. (19 May 2020). "Aafca Awards - Aafca". AAFCA - African American Film Critics Association actively reviews cinema at-large, with a particular emphasis on films which include the Black experience..
54. (13 March 2022). "Congratulations to Jeymes Samuel for winning Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 2022 BAFTA Awards".
55. (16 December 2021). "The 2021 Black Reel Awards (BRAs) Nominations".
56. (13 December 2021). "Film Nominations Announced for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards".
57. (22 February 2022). "'Spider-Man,' 'Shang-Chi' Lead Critics Choice Super Awards Film Nominations".
58. "44th Denver Film Festival Homepage".
59. Jamieson, Doug. (6 December 2021). "Cyrano Named Best Picture by Detroit Film Critics Society".
60. (2 December 2021). "The 5th Annual HCA Awards".
61. Tangcay, Jazz. (4 November 2021). "Beyonce, Van Morrison, Hans Zimmer Receive Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations".
62. Darling, Cary. (3 January 2022). "'The Power of the Dog' takes a bite out of Houston Film Critics Society's nominations". [[Houston Chronicle]].
63. Lewis, Hilary. (18 January 2022). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations".
64. (December 2021). "Power of the Dog, Belfast Lead Nominations for IPA Satellite Awards".