SAMPA THE GREAT
Returns With New Single & Video
“FINAL FORM”
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SAMPA THE GREAT RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE & VIDEO
“FINAL FORM”
WATCH HERE
BUY/STREAM HERE
OUT NOW VIA NINJA TUNE
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Sampa the Great returns, captivating audiences with the release of her new single “Final Form”, as premiered by Zane Lowe and out now on Ninja Tune. As the first release from Sampa this year, the track sets the benchmark of what we can expect to hear from her in 2019.
Straight off the bat with an all consuming, sampled big band sound, “Final Form” is a lesson in hip hop. An ode to her Zambian heritage, Sampa proudly declares her greatness, her words amplified by a unique sound and poignant lyricism that has become synonymous with Sampa The Great. Produced by longtime collaborator Silentjay and mixed by Stones Throw’s Jonwayne, today’s release sees Sampa take final form with her most impactful release to date. Sampa the Great on “Final Form”:
“Final Form is about expanding and calling out any negativity towards that growth process. As an artist, I recognise my potential and recognise the growth it takes to get to the final form, but it’s easy to get caught up in the constant chatter around you (how you aren’t there yet, you might not make it, time is nearly up).
True gold takes time and final form is about moving past negativity that doesn’t understand the growth process. I now recognise my in-between stage; sometimes it drops and sometimes it rises. I love that I get to level up each second. I might even final form tomorrow.”
“Great state I’m in
In all states I’m in
I might final form
In my melanin”
Backed by a visual that’s as dynamic as its vocal counterpart, the video sees Sampa travel back to Zambia to explore the traditions and communities of her roots. Bridging the gap between the traditional worlds of Nyau dancers and modern Zambian youth culture, it was filmed in the run up to her first ever shows on African soil. Sampa The Great on the video:
“The music video for “Final Form” was inspired by the belief of having a spiritual exodus back to yourself. Often, as black people in the diaspora, we talk about the physical return to our roots but not as much about the spiritual.
“Final Form” is meant to start that conversation and it was important for me to do this video in Zambia. The place of my birth and where I’m from. If I am truly to become the greatest version of myself, I was going to start at the most “me” I’ve ever been. Which is where I grew up!
This is also to clarify that I am Zambian. Born and raised between Zambia and Botswana, by a Bemba mother and Tumbuka father. To erase that by calling me anything but Zambian/African, is to erase my history, culture and essence. Everything I was born from.”
The rise of Sampa the Great has been spectacular to watch, having accumulated over 33 million streams collectively since her 2015 breakout, The Great Mixtape. Her second mixtape Birds And The BEE9 was defined by The Observer as an album in which “categories dissolve around her” and also won the Australian Music Prize as Best Album Of 2017. Sampa capped off 2018 with her single “Energy”, which premiered via Zane Lowe’s show on Apple Music’s Beats 1, with the accompanying video reaching has 1.2M YouTube views to date.
Entertaining audiences across the globe, Sampa has won a wave of adoring fans with her live shows, performing across the country’s most iconic festivals, including Laneway Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Golden Plains, Sugar Mountain, Womadelaide, Vivid Live & more. Sampa recently returned home, performing her first African shows in Swaziland, Zambia and Johannesburg, before heading to Hobart this June for the iconic Dark Mofo festival and world-renowned Glastonbury festival in the UK. Keeping in the company of greatness, she has supported the biggest names in music including Kendrick Lamar, Ms Lauryn Hill, Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote, Ibeyi and Little Simz.
An artist who expresses herself through music, poetry and visual art, Sampa effortlessly captures listeners with her thought provoking words and unmatched sound. Always informed by her heritage and gaining legendary status with every release, “Final Form” arrives today to perfectly introduce the next phase of new music for Sampa The Great.
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Watch FINAL FORM here
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