Sampa the Great Essentials

Sampa the Great Essentials

Zambian-born rapper/singer Sampa Tembo has been storming her adopted Australia since age 22, starting with a pair of blockbuster mixtapes including 2017’s Australian Music Prize-winning Birds and the BEE9. Beyond her fluid agility and rat-a-tat punctuation, Tembo reliably turns resonant subject matter into instant slogans: See “Protect Your Queen,” a fierce celebration of female blackness, and “OMG,” waving the flag proudly for contemporary African culture. Signed to Ninja Tune for 2019’s triumph The Return, she flexes her skills and smarts more than ever on anthems like “Final Form,” which shares a sample with the Ghostface Killah classic “Be Easy.”

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