Sampa The Great ignites the spark of a Zamrock revival on her defiant 30th October-set album, Nu Zamrock, connecting heritage, growth and legacy into a new creative purpose.
Sampa Tembo, better known under her artistic moniker Sampa The Great, is a Zambian singer, rapper and songwriter. After spending time living in Australia, she returned to Zambia seven years ago. She has shared critically acclaimed albums – like 2017’s debut Birds and the BEE9 and 2022’s As Above, So Below – that have illustrated her ability to seamlessly traverse ‘90s hip-hop, plus rock, funk and African rhythm.
The forthcoming release of Nu Zamrock, set for release on 30th October, Sampa has proved her importance beyond being a genre chameleon. This latest work delivers a fresh and progressive idea of revolutionary rock, carrying the flame of Zambian musicians such as George Kunda and Witch.
In the build-up to the album’s release, the songwriter said in a manifesto-style outline: “I’ve stepped into my power, into my sound, into my purpose. I’ve claimed this thing — Nu Zamrock — as something of my own, something I’m shaping in real time. And in this new form, with this much clarity and drive? You can’t hold us. You can’t stop us. Not anymore.” Radiating confidence and creative freedom, Nu Zamrock captures Sampa’s evolution into an artist fully in command of her voice, her heritage, and her momentum.
Ahead of the album’s release, Wonderland connects with Sampa to reflect on reconnecting with her home country, joining the dots between Zamrock’s past and present, and a fateful encounter with a pioneering band.
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Read the exclusive interview...
Since the release of your very first project, what have been the highlights of performing as Sampa The Great so far?
My debut album back in 2017 felt like the shock of reality, like a dream coming true for the first time. It’s a totally different lifespan. I can also remember supporting Kendrick Lamar back in 2016 and thinking, ‘Why are they giving in to me? Why are they letting me do this?’ [laughs]
That night, supporting Kendrick on tour, I felt like I had arrived; the words were coming out of my mouth, and it was official now. When As Above So Below was released, I returned home and suddenly people realised this is something you can do, even if you are from Zambia, wherever you are from.
As I understand your last project was written when you left Australia and returned back home to Zambia. Would it be fair to say you reconnected with the sound of home?
In 2019, when COVID reached Australia and places were being shut down, I left with my little sister. We couldn’t go back – they called it involuntary relocation. I had done talent shows at home, and I wanted to be a musician at home but I had never performed as Sampa the Great until I left home.
When I came back to Zambia, I got to live with musicians I grew up listening to. We made an entire album in Zambia, front to back, which was eventually As Above So Below. I grew up in Zambia but moved to Australia, where my music took off, so the journey has been about connecting those two places together.
From the opening track on your new album, “Intro” you spell it out clearly, this is the new generation of Zambian Rock. What is different about the new generation of Zamrock compared to the old generation and creators such as George Kunda and WITCH?
I think the old generation is more courageous. They were living in much more conservative times and creating this new, strange, edgy sound. It’s loud and proud, and they were saying, “We are going to do it our way,” which is the brave aspect.
I think the difference is that now we’ve educated ourselves a bit about musical history, finding out why WITCH broke up in the first place. There was an element of not knowing whether we could make this music or sustain ourselves with it.
The goal of being an artist is to want to make music; our generation wants to create a community with this music, to make an ecosystem with it. What about psychedelic rock? What about reggae? We don’t feel restricted by genre at all. The feeling is: where can we take it next, to even crazier places than where they took it previously.
At its core, does Zamrock represent a sense of endless experimentation?
Definitely. It all started with that blend of traditional music crossed with psychedelic rock. As soon as I found out my uncle (George Kunda) was in WITCH, it gave me creation, which might sound strange, but it made me feel that I could be even bolder, even crazier with my music. You could say it felt like a new permission given to me.
How did you manage to uncover the relation you had to George Kunda?
My sister and I were watching Watchmen, the television series. I can’t remember the specific episode, but at the end, “Living In The Past” by WITCH played. I went crazy, and I said to my sister, “This is a Zambian band!! Who is this!! What is this!!” I then found out about this crazy band from the 70s, mixing traditional and psychedelic music.
I had this thought immediately that I wanted to work with them, we ended up meeting and they said “You know, your uncle ended up getting us together”, I just thought “HUH”, everybody was acting so nonchalantly about it, it irritates me [laughs]
We then worked together on a few songs for As Above, So Below. I went back home and told my dad about working with WITCH, and he just said, “Oh, your uncle was in WITCH”, again, so casually [laughs].
When did you decide that the vocal samples of George heard across the album were the right way to honour his legacy?
I can vividly remember the day I met him at a WITCH reunion, we started talking and he said: “it is so great to see that this thing has continued”, he was talking as if he hadn’t seen the fruits of his labour and I didn’t like that, I told him you are still here and you still have so much beautiful wisdom of this genre that we can learn from as young Zambians trying to make music.
Who better to usher in this new generation of music than the person who was there when it was founded, and also a person who thinks that it all finished with him? It’s never finished; music is never finished. It always lives on through energy. I just thought that because he was the reason we are all here, it made sense for him to be the voice of the album.
Beyond the songs on this record representing some of your finest diverse and creative works, are you also hoping they stand as a reference point to teach a whole new audience about Zambian Rock?
I think the goal is to introduce this new sound but also to preserve the past, to make sure we have interviews that tell us what it was like actually creating the genre. You kind of have this simultaneous thing happening where we’re learning about Zamrock while being introduced to new music at the same time, which is crazy.
What kind of production environment brought this album to life?
I took my band across the border to Botswana, and we rented out a place – this farmhouse, which definitely needs its own story. And for an entire week, we had a jam session; all the music that would appear on the album started spilling out.
We would sit down, listen to old Zamrock and listen to rap music, and think about the best way to integrate these worlds and create together.
Once we had the foundation, we then went to Los Angeles and met up with the producer Cadenza, which felt like adding extra spice to the food. He has a way of making everything sound so cinematic.
I’d never live it down if I didn’t ask, how did you manage to get Sia involved as a feature on ‘Supernova’?
This was through Cadenza; we were making the song and thinking about how amazing it is to have harmonies, and who does that the best, who is able to capture the song so well with singing. My sister then mentions Sia, and I said imagine… Fast forward to the next day, Cadenza reaches out, and she loves the song. The next day, she went into the studio and started adding her own lyrics and harmonies.
I can imagine you are looking forward to bringing ‘Nu Zamrock’ across the world, are there any dates you are particularly looking forward to playing?
This year in London, we are performing at the Blue Note Jazz Club, which we have to make very special. We are also trying to do a show here in Zambia, which I’m looking forward to, as I plan to get my uncle up as a special guest!
I’ve saved the hardest question till last here: what song would you bring your uncle up for, if given the opportunity?
Oh man, I don’t even know… it would almost be his choice. I would love to do some of the slower tracks. I remember playing “Home Town” to Emmanuel Jagari from WITCH, and he said, “This is what I want”. I was so thankful to get that blessing from him.
Words – Tobias Furlong
