'As Above, So Below' is the truest expression of her art to date, according to Sampa Tembo (aka The Great).
Co-produced by Sampa alongside Zambian producer Mag44 – whose music she admired as a child – the album was recorded in Zambia during the pandemic.
“Who did music/ Made that shit language/ African branded/ We did (never forget)…” – ‘Never Forget’ (feat. Chef 187, Sampa’s cousin Tio Nason and l’il sis Mwanjé) pays tribute to Zamrock, a genre with ‘70s origins that combined traditional African music with psychedelic rock, and showcases Sampa’s gruff timbre and trademark percussive flow to perfection.
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Inventive rhyming elevates ‘Lane’ (feat. Denzel Curry) – “Thinkin’ you’re Geppetto/ Pullin’ strings, you ain’t got the memo/ You know that I’m walkin’ through the meadow…” – a song about giving yourself permission to show your full range as a human being.
After clocking Sampa’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Angélique Kidjo reached out to request a collab: Sampa features on Kidjo’s ‘Free & Equal’ and now the five-time Grammy Award-winning Beninese trailblazer returns the feat. favour on this album’s ebullient, brass-infused closer, ‘Let Me Be Great’.
Sampa envisioned ‘An Afro Future’ (“seeing people who look like me on stage”).
Then she assembled a history-making, 15-piece all-Zambian backing band for touring purposes – bringing her vision to life and empowering others.
“You will remember the name/ Sampa The Great is the greatest” – ‘Never Forget’
Label: Lorna Vista Recordings
Release date: 9 September
