UP-and-coming hip hop artist Sam Anderton is rising to the top of his game, having shot his first music video in New York with a director to the stars.

The video to the 22-year-old’s track Can’t Defy Me was directed by Charlie Zwick, who has worked with chart-topping rappers P Diddy, Busta Rhymes and Asher Roth.

And Sam says he is a big name on the US hip hop scene.

But the barman has jetted back from the Big Apple to his home near Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, and is still unknown in Norfolk.

He works part-time at the Stadium Bar and at clothes store Next while he keeps pushing for his big break, and hopes to be a household name in Yarmouth one day.

“I want to have a name and say something positive has come out of Yarmouth and have people think I’ve made something of myself,” said Sam, of Queens Road. “I would be well happy if people know my lyrics.

“It’s kind of horrible in a way that all my success is in New York because people don’t believe you’re progressing, but people are so positive.”

The aspiring lyricist says he has listened to urban music since he was six years old as his big brother would play tracks in his room.

He studied at Yarmouth High School and Great Yarmouth College before throwing himself into the world of music, and chasing his dream career.

And his school nickname Sam The Man (STM) - due to his deep voice - has stuck as he records under the name STM.

After years of effort, he caught the eye of top director Zwick and got the opportunity to shoot a professional music video.

It has already got thousands of views since it was posted on the internet last week, and he says people who watch it are in for a surprise.

“I wanted to use the Brooklyn Bridge, Queens, all the New York landscapes,” revealed Sam. “I didn’t want to be something I’m not, I wanted to manipulate the background.

“Charlie said lots of people do that.

“He said how about something crazy - something so strange that people will remember.”

The end result sees Sam with “weird eyes and a crazy top hat”, and a woman on a lead.

He visits New York two or three times a year after a chance encounter with a hip hop artist while on a family holiday in the Dominican Republic in 2007.

He said he is grateful to his family and friends for supporting him.

To see his video, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/samtheman26