From the very beginning, God created us for community, families, friendships, and relationships that remind us we are seen, loved, and supported. We were never called to live only for ourselves, but also to care for one another.

Being our brother's keeper isn't always about grand gestures. Sometimes it's a phone call to check in. A kind word. A listening ear. A prayer offered on someone else's behalf. Sometimes it's simply choosing compassion when it's easier to choose indifference.

Jesus taught us to love others as we love ourselves. It's a simple instruction, but one that has the power to change homes, friendships, churches, and entire communities.

After all, none of us wants to be ignored in our moments of need. None of us wants kindness withheld when life becomes heavy. The same grace, patience, and love we hope to receive are the very things we're called to extend to others.

And here's the beautiful part: when we choose to stand for one another, we become reminders of God's love in action.

Because while we support one another, it is God who fights for us.

My brother, Reggie Dartey, and I have a new song, Rest II It's a song about finding rest in God, knowing that while we may face battles, He is the One who fights for us. I hope you'll take a moment to listen and let it remind you that His peace is always available, even in the middle of life's storms.

Till I write you again next time!

Love, Samuel❤️

I wake up, however, wondering if I’m losing the compassion I once overwhelmingly felt.

Let me explain. Before this season, I’m one person that those around me could readily count on to rescue them from difficult situations because I was ever ready to listen, ever ready to bail someone out, and ever ready to give; and I always did this from a place of compassion and desire to help without having expectations.

In the last few months, however, and with everything my family has been and is going through, I feel a level of irritation when people come to me for help. I no longer easily feel the compassion I would once feel; I’m only left with questioning: “How selfish can they be?” “How can’t they see that I’m going through the toughest season of my life?” “Why is there no one extending a hand to help when I’ve helped others all my life?”

These questions and more, fuel my irritation when people come to me with asks; but the other day, after one of these asks that agitated me, the gentleness of my wife’s voice caught me off guard when she said, “I know it’s tough for you in this season, but how would Jesus react?”

That statement has been at the back of my mind for days and brought me to my knees. I woke up to the realization that this is what the enemy wanted for me. It wasn’t just me experiencing difficulties in this season; the enemy wanted me to lose my compassion, the same compassion in time past that has moved me to do things that, before now, saved lives and been instrumental in the navigation of the lives of many.

So, the right question for me then is: What is ABBA trying to teach me in this season?

The answer is only one thing: “More compassion.”

I see it better now, and I would write a follow-up piece when this season is over.

Pray for me. 🙏🏾❤️

I turned 30 in October of 2025, and I can’t believe my reality. I’m now that guy! I’m now being called “Uncle” left, right, and centre. “but I just a baby 😭”. I don’t understand how TikTok works. I’m loosing grasp of social media. In the wake of all of these feelings, one beneficial thing, however, that I picked up after turning 30 was that; “fear was never beneficial” to me. I feel like I spent the greater part of my late twenties being scared, having a lot of self doubt, and processing too many things through the lens of “what ifs and what would people think or say”.

30 came with a feeling of, time is really yours to lose, and every day spent not doing the things you really want to do, is a day lost where you could’ve done the things you wanted to do.

30 came with a feeling of urgency, and a desire to re-discover my child like wonder, to get back in the mind-frame where my dreams had no boundaries, nor were they tainted by my experience of life.

It’s a hefty realization how contrasting our mindsets as kids, teenagers, and adults are.

As a kid, I thought and believed I could rule the world. As a teenager, I believed I could take over the country, but the blows and punches of life had me thinking in my late twenties that If I could conquer just my city, that I would’ve done an incredible job.

In my 30s, I’m rebelling against everything that has held me back and embracing my child like wonder. I would conquer the world, and it begins with going blonde. Lol.

That sounded crazy, but yes, going blonde is my first step in taking an action without thinking; “hey, what would people say?”.

I’m blonde now, and God did it.

Okay, that last line was just to tell you about this new song that I just put out today;

Click God did it to listen

it’s me rapping and carries some of that energy I came into the year with.

Well, I’m off to conquer the world. When I do, remember that “God did it”.

Stream God did it for clear skin 😤

I’ve thought about this long enough to come to the conclusion of filing it under toxic masculinity. Most men I know are inclined to hastily reject the possibility of having an interest or enjoyment in certain things that they believe are largely enjoyed by women. It is one of those things I find intriguing; there never was a meeting where all men came together and reached a consensus about these things, and yet most men that I’ve met subscribe to the same line of thought without even being able to explain their why.

One of those things for me was watching Korean TV series, popularly known as K-drama. I remember being newly married, and my wife would always talk about how it was some of the best TV, if not the best, and I would argue the opposite, because for me, if it wasn’t a Hollywood action film, then it wasn’t worth my time. She did everything to try and convince me, and I did everything I could to maintain the opposing stand.

Then I messed up! 😒

While spending time together one evening, I joined in on her watching “Alchemy of Souls,” and I planned not to really dig into the story. Less than an hour later, I found myself asking questions; what happened to this character and that character? Like, why did she betray him? What did he do for them to be against him?

Before I realized what was happening, I was already in too deep and realized I really needed the backstory, or else it would haunt my mind. I had to go start from the very beginning and watched the entire show. With shame, I started to watch through every single episode, and shame gradually turned to reckless abandon and eventually I was cheating sleep so many nights just to absorb as many episodes as I could. At the end of this series, I shed tears! A whole me! I shed a thug tear 😭

It was too good. It was one of the best series I had ever watched 😭

My wife was right, but don’t let her know 😒

Since then, I’ve gone on to watch as many Korean TV series as possible, and to be honest, they provide me some of my best television.

My wife has a new guilty-pleasure show, “Pop the Balloon with Arlete,” and this time she won’t win, I won’t give in. However, I listen in sometimes while she’s watching it, and it’s kinda interesting, but yeah, I’m not letting her win me over this time.

She’s currently winning the “who has better television taste” game, and I need a solid comeback. I need recommendations 🤷🏽‍♂️

This is what a person says to themselves when confronted with the reality of an addiction, and this is usually backed by the belief that they are able to stop participation in the said activity whenever they choose to. Well, I am that “person,” and I have set out on a mission to prove to myself that I am not addicted.

“I am not addicted to Instagram” is what I say to myself always, but somehow, whenever I grab my phone (which is pretty much all the time), I instinctively try to open up Twitter (now X) or Instagram, and this isn’t always necessarily a purposeful action done in desire to execute an action; it’s almost just a reflex of a fiend toward their next dopamine hit. In my desire to wean myself off this urge, I often delete all social media platforms from my phone, and the result is a funny but devastating letdown every time I look at my phone and try to open one of these apps and find nothing, and all of a sudden, it almost feels like my phone has no use.

But then again, maybe it isn’t social media I’m addicted to; maybe I am addicted to my phone, because why do I wake up in the morning and my first instinct, before anything else, is to grab my phone? And if I’m being honest, I usually have a number of valid reasons for grabbing my phone: i.e., I like to know what the time is when I wake up, my devotionals are on my phone, and sometimes I convince myself that I need to check my phone to ensure there wasn’t an emergency situation through the night that needed my attention. However, this little activity that begins with good intent will often lead to me scrolling on social media or being distracted by something else for a bit before calling myself to order.

So what is it that I’m really addicted to, my phone or social media?

How can I fix this?

Should I get a physical clock for my bedside? Maybe that will fix the urge to see what time it is when I wake up.

But how do I find a solution for being the emergency contact for many loved ones? Help here 🤷🏽‍♂️

I believe that I’m not addicted, so I’m putting myself to the test. From today till the 10th of January, I will have all social platforms deleted and have zero activity on there except for Substack (there’s something refreshing about this community). And if I do this successfully, then we can all agree that I’m not addicted, but if I fail, we would need to call a family meeting 🤧. You’re welcome to test my resolve and socially watch me on IG, X, and TikTok.

Let the watch begin!!!

Being an artist who loves God and loves the art of music making can often be an interesting terrain to navigate. You’re constantly trying to bargain for your artistry while upholding the ministry of it all, and no one prepares you for the chaos that begins to unravel internally when rejection comes from the ones you considered family; the Church.

It is actually easy for me to affirm that my faith will not be shaken by various trials, or if no one ever knew my name, or if I’m looked upon as irrelevant, as I get my fulfillment from knowing the name of Jesus is forever relevant. The truth is, I’ve been a Bible school kid all my life, and these scenarios are ones I’ve always been prepared for.

However, in this season of my life, I’m coming to terms with how nerve racking and faith demoralizing it can be when the authenticity of my faith walk is questioned by fellow believers. This is the one scenario I never really prepared for. I spend sleepless nights wondering to myself: has this ministry not borne enough fruits? Do they not see the transformation in the youth? Did they not notice the audacity with which the youth identify with their faith today? Are they not aware of the shift? Has the last five years been a figment of our imagination, and have we only been trapped in our own bubble? Or has this music had real life impact in our collective spiritual walks?

I genuinely do not have all the answers yet, so while I keep searching for them, the next chapter for me is to further plant my feet deeper in the unconditional acceptance I get from ABBA when He calls me “son.” This is my solid ground.