Sampa the Great has been on a creative spree as of late. In just the last month or so, the Zambian artist, born Sampa Tembo, has dropped an album, toured the U.S., and opened for Billie Eilish in her adopted home of Australia. When I called her on Zoom for this interview, the second trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had just dropped. It features her song “Never Forget” and I could hear faint cheers of celebration coming through the walls as she answered. (“Overwhelmed with gratitude” was how she described the feeling.) Now, her spree continues with the release of the video for her song “Let Me Be Great” with one of the world’s greatest musical legends: Angélique Kidjo. The visuals for the closing song on Sampa’s latest album, As Above, So Below, takes us into a futuristic world that pays homage to Kidjo’s GRAMMY-nominated, groundbreaking 1994 video for “Agolo.” It’s a powerful song. Expansive and momentous — a call to arms for anyone doubting that they should be exactly what they are: great.
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