Zambian-born, Botswana-raised poet and rapper Sampa The Great released her new album, As Above, So Below, on Friday, 9th September. Her second record, it follows her 2019 debut, The Return, which became her second release to win the Australian Music Prize.
The album was previewed by the singles ‘Lane’ (ft. Denzel Curry), ‘Never Forget’ (feat. Chef 187, Tio Nason, Mwanjé) and ‘Bona’. The roots of As Above, So Below can be traced back to the start of the global pandemic, when Sampa returned home to Zambia and reconnected with a different side of herself.
Sampa The Great – ‘As Above, So Below’
As Above, So Below showcases an entirely new side of Sampa The Great. She worked on the album with Southern African creatives Rochelle Nembhard and Imraan Christian and recorded alongside an extended network of close friends and family,
“As Above, So Below is more personal than communal,” Sampa said in a statement. “The literal meaning is what is within me, is what is expressed outside of me. After years of feeling like I had to represent and be an ambassador for everyone, I finally feel like I get to be an ambassador and fully represent myself.
“Relocating to Zambia and Botswana is significant to my story, because this is where my artist dreams began. I was able to reconnect to my younger self and remind me why I started making music in the first place, beyond outside pressure or influence.
“The album has become a full circle moment for me; I was able to create this project in the country of my birth and have it be the first project created in Zambia with a Zambian Executive Producer, African visual team and majority African producers and artists.”
In conjunction with the record’s release, Sampa unveiled the album’s fourth single, ‘Let Me Be Great’, which features acclaimed Beninese singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo. The album also features guest appearances from Kojey Radical, James Sakala, and Joey Bada$$.
“This is my freest project to date,” Sampa states. “It feels like the journey of ‘my return’ has been completed, and a new chapter begins.”
Further Reading
Sampa The Great Announces Intimate Sydney Shows
Dua Lipa, Crowded House and Sampa the Great Lead New Always Live Program Announcement
Guests Announced For Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ Australian Tour
