Sampa The Great, the gem of Zambian rap that shakes up the codes

Musicaline introduces us this morning to the Zambian poet and rapper: Sampa The Great and her new album, a splendid immersive journey in all its nuances of flow.

For Never Forget excerpt from his new album As above so below (above, below), Sampa the great has teamed up with its compatriots. She pays homage here to Zamrock, a genre born in the 70s combining traditional Zambian music and psychedelic rock.

But it was in Australia that the young globe-trotting artist, predestined to a future as a sound engineer, became Sampa The Great; architect of his own sonic kingdom, engraved on The Great Mixtape.

From its debut in 2015, we quickly understood the immense potential of Sampa The Great.

Based on what criteria?

First her vocal technique, she is able to juggle between a corrosive and dark rap with a light and fluid song. His words are calls for reflection, with the theme, duty of memory, social commitment and spirituality. Finally, her musical universe, honors the traditional well-rooted style, where she sometimes raps in Bemba her mother tongue, on jazz, soul, funk.

I am me, it is with this asserted identity that Sampa The Great won the prize for the best Australian album in 2017 and provides the first parts of his idols Kendrick Lamar and Lauryn Hill. At 29, she is now considered the voice of the African diaspora on the southern continent, collaborating with many artists, and in particular with one of her mentors, the iconic Angélique Kidjo.

This duo is not insignificant, it is the very vision of music according to Sampa The Great, which she describes as the language of the soul, transcending borders and where past, present and future merge to pass on the baton of a generation to another.

Sampa The Great’s new album: As above so below is already available, she will be in Paris at Trabendo October 16.