As a follow up to Sampa The Great’s two-part song and spoken word project HERoes, that she released last year, today’s EP release marks a continuation of collaboration and self-exploration. Act 2’s first single, “Everybody’s Hero” is an emotional callout to the inability of being everyone’s hero and instead being your own, while accompanying tracks, the impactful “The Plug” shines value on self confidence and being your own muse, and soul-tinged “Paved With Gold” speaks of clarifying life’s new direction after a derailment. HERoes Act 2’s artwork features a photo of Sampa taken late last year sitting side by side of an image that was taken of her 15 years ago, symbolising her journey from Botswana to present day.

The rise of Sampa The Great has been nothing short of spectacular. In 2015, Sampa received phenomenal success with her debut release, The Great Mixtape. It featured the #1 Hype Machine hit “Blue Boss” that was picked up by BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac and reached one million Spotify plays in two months. Follow-up releases “Black Dignity” and the collaborative HERoes project were received with similar greatness. One of the first artists to be inducted into Red Bull Sound Select’s Australian program, Sampa performed at Sydney’s Chippendale hotel last May alongside Tuka and B-Wise. Elsewhere on stage, Sampa has supported the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat and Hiatus Kaiyote, sold out her own shows and headlined festivals including Golden Plains, Sugar Mountain and WOMAD.

Earlier this year, Sampa also appeared at national touring festival, Laneway. In collaboration with Red Bull Sampa enveloped Melbourne and Sydney crowds within a giant woven cape, before allowing attendees to pull apart their own piece of the cape to wear for the remainder of the festival – Everybody was a hero for the day. Sampa will next visit the UK in May for Brighton’s The Great Escape festival, before joining frequent collaborator REMI on a co-headline national Australian tour in June and July.

HERoes Act 2 is the fifth Red Bull Sound Select release this year following Xavier Omar’s “Afraid”, produced by Bizness Boi, Tennyson’s three tracks “Tuesday,” ”Wednesday” and “Thursday” with Mr. Carmack as well as Pell’s “Patience” /“Late At Night” featuring MNEK / produced by London On Da Track. Sampa the Great joins the catalogue of previously released breakout tracks including Gallant’s “Skipping Stones“ featuring Jhené Aiko, River Tiber’s “Illusions“ featuring Pusha T (produced by River Tiber, KAYTRANADA & Doc McKinney), and more.

HEROES ACT 2 EP OUT TODAY WITH RED BULL SOUND SELECT
LISTEN HERE
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SAMPA THE GREAT
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About Sampa The Great

The rise of Sampa The Great has been spectacular to watch. A female poet and singer-songwriter who expresses herself through music, poetry and visual art, Sampa captures you with her thought provoking words, yet keeps you laughing and enjoying the simplicity of creativity.

Born in Zambia, at a young age Sampa Tembo and her family decided to move to Botswana, where she was raised.  Separating Sampa from her peers is the upbringing and life experiences that inform her lyrics. Once, a group of boys were set to perform a rap song at her primary school. She was intrigued by their performance and asked if she could join the group, the response: “You can’t rap with us, because you’re a girl.” From that moment forward she decided not only to be a great female artist, but a great artist period.

“It’s a search for creativity, laughter, purpose and rhythms.” With those four simple terms, Sampa The Great describes her astonishing debut release, “The Great Mixtape.” Tembo has a penchant for poetry and weaves dense lyrical mazes with her verses, drawing listeners into a lush, imaginative world. Her music bonds from spoken-word to pure hip-hop rapping, with stops at psychedelic and bluesy waypoints in between; it’s the sound of an adventurous young mind pushing out against all boundaries. To listen is to learn. The debut 12-track mixtape flows through a collection of experimental beats by producer Godriguez and left-field rhymes shaped by Sampa’s wide-spanning influences of Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, Thandiswa Mazwai, Asa, Nneka and Yasiin Bey.

In the vain of unannounced releases Sampa dropped 2 Soundcloud uploads ‘Blue Boss’ (Hitting #1 on Hype Machine and picked up by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1, Reaching 1 Million Spotify plays
in 2 months)..

“HERoes” is the latest in an exciting narrative series of songs and collaborative projects for Sampa. Act 1 of 2 is a spoken word video and 2 track exploration into self discover and strength from within. In a time where chaos, uncertainty and prejudice engulf us, once again, Sampa shines her torch on the value and strength of each individual.

Sampa has won over a wave of adoring fans with her live show having been chosen to support Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote, Ibeyi, Little Simz and Fat Freddy’s Drop along with her sold out headline shows and festival slots at Golden Plains, Sugar Mountain, Laneway, WOMAD & VIVID Live, 2017 is set to be the year the world meets Sampa the Great.

About Red Bull Sound Select

Red Bull Sound Select is an accelerator for music artists. We support them by collaborating on ambitious projects and ideas; using the strength of our global network together with a collective of artists, creatives and events to accelerate their growth. The network consists of 20 city residencies, 200+ events each year, 250+ artists, 50 partners and a growing list of our own festivals like 30 Days and 3 Days.

AMNPLIFY – DB