From his apartment and home studio on East 6th Street, Sammy Haig is making waves on the national music industry scene. In recent years, the 25-year-old trumpet player and music producer has collaborated with some of today's biggest artists—from Paul Russell and Meghan Trainor to DJ Drama and Tyler, The Creator.

Haig's musical career began early, with piano lessons as a child before he joined the school band in fifth grade playing trumpet. He eventually went on to study trumpet at Indiana University, graduating in May 2021.

It wasn’t long after graduation that Haig decided he would not pursue the traditional path of a working musician and instead pivoted toward music production and recording.

Sammy Haig “The first time I really tried to do production was in January 2022,” Haig recalls. “That was when I was like, ‘Okay, I'm going to make an idea and try to send it to people within the music industry,’ as opposed to trying to just record something for a friend or play live.”

He and fellow producer UNKWN were working on ideas for short compositions that music creators could use in their beats. They sent the ideas out to everyone they knew.

Then, one night in September 2023, Haig and UNKWN listened to the newly-released album “I’m Really Like That” by DJ Drama featuring Tyler, The Creator. The first track, “Legendary,” used Haig’s and UNKWN’s composition called “Stardust.”

Haig says the elements of their composition can be heard throughout the first track. “Stardust is much of what you hear in the track, including the piano, light drums, trumpets, and some of the background vocals,” he explains. “From there, DJ Drama, Tyler, The Creator, and their team built around our idea, adding more background vocals, bass, and finally the rapping parts you hear on the track.”

He says they were unaware their “Stardust” concept had even been considered for production.

“We had no idea about the existence of the song at all until the night it was released,” recalls Haig, noting he was “extremely excited” after a midnight call from UNKWN told him about the track.

“I literally ran around the house in excitement, as I had been working tirelessly and hoping for a windfall like this for over a year at that point,” Haig says. “It's still very surreal to hear the artists' voices over my trumpet playing, and I couldn't be more grateful for the song and where it's taken me since.”

Haig calls “Legendary” his first “big break,” marking his foray into a new era of music production—one that relies heavily on remote collaboration and digital networking.

Haig works from his home studio “It's interesting because as an artist, I feel like I would want to know every single person who is involved with the project,” he says, “but at that level there are so many people involved and it's kind of hard for them to know all that.”
Since his first big break, Haig has contributed to songs by some of the industry's biggest names, and he says his most recognizable work includes “Slippin’” by Meghan Trainor and Paul Russell, and tracks by Gunna and Trippie Redd.

Haig recalls hearing his work while walking one night. “I was walking in Tremont and I heard someone drive by, playing ‘I was Just Thinking’ by Gunna, and it was just a really cool moment,” he recalls. “I didn't believe it, you know?”

Haig says his classical training enabled him to launch his career in popular music. “I try to base my ideas around the trumpet, because it's sort of my unique thing that I do that not a lot of other people do,” he explains. “A lot of people know that if they want a real trumpet sound, that they can call me, and that's been sort of my foot in the door in a lot of situations.”

He adds that working out of his downtown Cleveland apartment can be a challenge, however. “The main issue is that [the trumpet] is super loud, so I can't really be in my apartment and just blast trumpet at night," Haig admits. "That's the main problem—bothering people."