Sampa the Great

Another chance to hear DJ Edu's 2022 interview with world-renowned Zambian rapper Sampa the Great, who has lived up to the name she rather audaciously gave herself at the start of her career. Her music has won prestigious awards and critical acclaim, and she counts the Obamas and Jada Pinkett-Smith among her fans. She has opened for Kendrick Lamar and Lauryn Hill, and performed at Glastonbury and Coachella, the first Zambian to do so.

As she tells DJ Edu, her latest album As Above So Below was recorded and produced in Zambia, unlike her earlier work. Establishing herself at home, as a Zambian artist, has been hugely important for her personally and for her musical journey.

She also confides that calling herself ‘great’ wasn’t about having a huge ego - quite the reverse. It was because she lacked confidence and needed to set herself a challenge.