Sampa The Great Confirms Release Of Debut Album 'The Return', Reveals New Single And Tour Dates
Thursday, 11 July 2019
Written by Jon Stickler
Sampa The Great has announced her debut album, 'The Return'.
The Zambia-born, Sydney-based spoken word poet and singer-songwriter will put out the follow up to her 2017 mixtape, 'Birds and the BEE9', on September 13. She'll support the release with a handful of headline shows, calling in Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, and London during November. Tickets go on sale at 10am on July 15.
Partially mixed by Stones Throw associate Jonwayne, with production from Silentjay, Kwes Darko, Clever Austin, Blue Lab Beats and Syreniscreamy, the album mixes jazz with spoken word, hip hop, soul, and more, with collaborations from artists like Ecca Vandal and London jazz collective Steam Down. The record also includes Sampa's previously shared song Final Form.
For a further taste of what to expect, Sampa has released another single, OMG, a fusion of US hip hop and African rhythm, which comes with a Sanjay De Silva-directed video shot between South Africa and Botswana, where Sampa was brought up. Discussing the clip, Sampa said:
"I got to do something that I’ve never done before. Which is to have my parents in one of my music videos. This is the first time they have been involved in my music at this level and it was important for me to express accepting and flexing my culture with the two people who know me most!
"I personally feel that people on the continent have a duty to our family in the diaspora, to re-teach our culture, language, spirituality, ways and return our peeps to ourselves.
"To me OMG sounds like the songs we heard in our childhood. It's broadly about flexing your culture! Loving where you’re from and even being shocked at the realization of not knowing how dope it is to be 'who you are.'"
'The Return' tracklist:
1. Mwana (ft. Mwanje Tembo, Theresa Mutale Tembo and Sunburnt Soul Choir)
2. Freedom
3. Wake Up (Interlude)
4. Time’s Up (ft. Krown)
5. Grass Is Greener
6. Dare to Fly (ft. Ecca Vandal)
7. Any Day (ft. Whosane)
8. OMG
9. Light It Up (Interlude)
10. Final Form
11. Heaven (ft. Whosane)
12. Diamond in the Ruff (ft. Thando and Krown)
13. Leading Us Home
14. Summer (ft. Steam Down)
15. Brand New (ft. SILENTJAY)
16. Give Love (Interlude)
17. The Return (ft. Thando, Jace XL, Alien and Whosane)
18. Don’t Give Up (ft. Mandarin Dreams)
19. Made Us Better (ft. Blue Lab Beats, Boadi and Lori)
Sampa The Great Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Fri November 15 2019 - LEEDS Belgrave Music Hall
Sun November 17 2019 - MANCHESTER YES
Mon November 18 2019 - BRISTOL Rough Trade
Wed November 20 2019 - LONDON XOYO
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