Samuel Johnson, better known by his stage name Samwell, is an American entertainer whose 2007 video " What What (In the Butt)" made him an

Internet celebrity An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

Early years

Samwell was born in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

. He has an

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ed ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

Career

Samwell is unsigned, but for a time his "What What (In the Butt)" was licensed through

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...

's record label,

Southern Fried Records Southern Fried Records is a London-based independent electronic dance music record label founded and owned by Norman Cook, better known by his stage name, Fatboy Slim. The label was created by Cook in 1994 to publish and market his and other ...

. The "What What (In the Butt)" video is licensed through Brownmark Films. The song was used extensively in the ''South Park'' season 12 episode " Canada on Strike", which featured a re-creation of the ''What What'' video. In April 2008, Samwell appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television show ''

Lily Allen and Friends ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

'' for an interview and performed a live version of "What What (In the Butt)" with choreographed dancers. Samwell played Adonis in the 2009 feature film ''

Modus Operandi A (often shortened to M.O. or MO) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as . Term The term is often used in ...

'' and plays the Communications Officer in 2014's ''

Hamlet A.D.D. ''Hamlet A.D.D.'' is a 2014 American independent film and web series directed by Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant and produced by Special Entertainment. It re-imagines William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' as a bizarre and comical tour through the ag ...

''. In March 2010,

Special Entertainment Special Entertainment (formerly Fortress Productions) is a Milwaukee based media production company established in 2003 by Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant. MKE Online, By Lilledeshan Bose (November 15, 2007), "The who who behind the ''What What' ...

released an

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

App called ''Shaky Advice from Samwell'' that functions much like a

Magic 8 Ball The Magic 8 Ball is a plastic sphere, made to look like an oversized , that is used for fortune-telling or seeking advice. It was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman and is manufactured by Mattel. The user asks a yes–no questi ...

, with video clips of Samwell giving advice. In June 2010, Samwell appeared on an episode of Comedy Central's ''

Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series was hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provided satirical commentary on online viral video clips ...

'', a television show about viral videos. The segment told the story of how the "What What" video was created, followed by an acoustic duet version of the song by Samwell and

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the founder and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he for ...

, lead singer for

Queens Of The Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

and

Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 with American musician Josh Homme on lead vocals and guitar, English musician John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards, and American musician Dave Grohl on drums a ...

. In a June 2 interview, host

Daniel Tosh Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelera ...

called Samwell one of the best guests he's had on the show, saying, "I'll tell you who I loved the 'What What In The Butt' guy. It couldn't have been more of a delight." In September 2010 Samwell appeared on ''Tosh.0'' a second time when he was nominated for the Season Two MVP Award. Samwell has a live phone call service called ''Special Greetings from Samwell'' which is available through his official website. Samwell released a string of videos after ''What What (In the Butt)'', including a Safe Sex

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pro ...

called ''Protect Respect'', music videos, interview videos, and a number of comedic sketch videos.

References

External links

*
Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samwell 1979 births Living people African-American male actors American male actors African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American electronic musicians American Internet celebrities University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers People from Greenville, South Carolina YouTubers from South Carolina

Early years

Career

See also

References

External links