“Let Me Be Great (feat. Angélique Kidjo)”
Sampa the Great is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia. She was primarily based in Australia for years, however got here again to Zambia in 2020, shortly earlier than the pandemic hit. Wen she couldn’t journey, she determined to make her subsequent album there in Lusaka. The album is named As Above, So Below, and it was produced by Mag44. In this episode, Sampa the Great and Mag44 break down the closing music ““Let Me Be Great,” which options vocals from legendary West African singer Angélique Kidjo, winner of 5 Grammys and certainly one of TIME‘s Most Influential People. I received to talk to Angélique Kidjo in her studio in Paris, and I spoke to Sampa the Great and Mag44 in Lusaka. Together, the three of them inform the story of how they made “Let Me Be Great.”
You can purchase or stream “Let Me Be Great” right here.
Illustration by Carlos Lerma.
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts
Angélique Kidjo’s 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Concert, with a visitor look from Sampa the Great, right here
Fela Kuti
Kalindula
Lozi individuals
Afro-pop
Afrofuturism
Yoruba language