Sampa the Great

Didier Theron Company

WOMADelaide through the eyes of a festival first-timer

You’ve got to wing it with WOMAD – how this writer learned to fly. As the saying goes, first impressions are very important – WOMADelaide’s impression was everything. With over 700 performers, WOMADelaide 2023 kicked off on Friday 10 March in the surroundings of Adelaide’s flourishing Botanic Park / Tainmuntilla. The four-day festival was an…

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Sampa the Great

Day three of WOMADelaide finds its groove

The mood of a multi-day festival seems to evolve over the course of the event. The first day is normally frantic as everyone is excited and trying to find their bearings. Second day is more sombre as heat and exhaustion start to take their toll. “How will we last all four days?” But the third…

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Revisit our live review of the Kendrick Lamar 2016 Sydney show ahead of his new Australian tour

*UPDATE* [19/05/2022]: Well, the news is out now. Every single music fan in Sydney is going to be knocking down the online Live Nation door as of Friday 20th May in a frantic attempt to scrape up tickets to Kendrick Lamar’s new Australia tour for 2022. The Compton emcee, who just released the brilliant Mr…

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Pickathon 2022 Lineup: Sampa The Great to join Built To Spill, Valerie June and more in Oregon

One of our favourite international events, Pickathon, which takes place quite literally in the woods outside of Portland, Oregon, has just announced its 2022 lineup. The annual festival takes place at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, and is such a unique and magnificent event we gave no less than five stars to their last…

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Sampa The Great, Warren Ellis, G Flip, and more recognised at the 2020 NLMAs

The fifth annual National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) took place last night, via a livestream that was accompanied by a gala event at Brisbane’s The Triffid. The event recognises the achievements of the Australian music industry, with awards handed out across twenty categories. Sampa The Great, won the evening’s most prestigious award for Best Live…

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Lime Cordiale and Tame Impala lead the 2020 ARIA Awards nominees

2020 has delivered a tough blow to the music industry, with live music put on hold and the cancellation of festivals. Despite the struggles brought on by the pandemic, this year’s ARIA Awards Ceremony promises to be something to look forward to. The nominees were announced today via a YouTube premiere, showcasing the diverse talent…

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Nominees revealed for the 2020 National Live Music Awards as public voting opens

The nominees for the 5th annual National Live Music Awards have been announced, which will be held on Sunday 20 October 2020 – both virtually and physically. Sampa the Great has received the most recognition, with three nominations – Live Act of the Year, Live Voice of the Year and Best Live Act in VIC…

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Best female rappers

100 of the greatest songs by women in hip hop

It opens with Erykah Badu rhyming over a beatbox from Rahzel, and closes with Missy Elliot threatening to slap you right across your melon. We’ve put together a 100-deep playlist for this month’s Hip Hop and R&B Retrospective, celebrating women in rap by spotlighting some of our favourites from the 80’s (Roxanne Shante, Queen Latifah,…

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Iggy Pop, Brockhampton, King Gizzard, Sampa The Great and more line up for the 20th Anniversary of Primavera Sound in Barcelona

The Primavera Sound lineup has dropped for 2020, and as usual the Barcelona festival is an absolute blockbuster. The event, which is celebrating its 20th year this year, is bringing together 211 artists of 35 nationalities, in a lineup that celebrates the best artists of this year, and the past twenty years or more, that…

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Sampa the Great, Skegss, The Chats and more Aussies join epic Coachella 2020 line up

Sampa the Great, Skegss and more will be part of the growing Australian presence that has been nudging its way onto the Coachella platform these past few years, joining the iconic music festival for its 2020 edition. Set for two weekends across April 10-12 and 17-19, the world renowned music and arts festivals will once…

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Track of the Day: Sampa the Great “Freedom” (2019)

After catching fire across the world with the “OMG” and “Final Form”, Sampa the Great prefaces new album The Return with yet another soul-stirring single in “Freedom”. The third clipping from this imminent project, Sampa syncs with a soulful backbeat, skipping across powerful vocal support to give us an R&B-flavoured ode to artistic expression. A…

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Track of the Day: Sampa the Great “OMG” (2019)

Exploring the idea of home through her African heritage has evidently given Sampa the Great a whole new burst of creative energy, because “OMG” (along with preceding single “Final Form”, which shares a Sylvers sample with Ghostface Killah’s “Be Easy”) represents the emcee’s finest work to date. Lifted from her forthcoming album The Return, due…

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Photo Gallery: Fairgrounds Festival – Berry (30.11.18 – 01.12.18)

The Fairgrounds Festival hit the Berry Showgrounds at the weekend, and the fourth incarnation of this festival was the greatest yet. On the back of winning an ARIA a week ago, Vance Joy delivered in spades on the Friday night. The night was closed out by the super-terrestrial Pond, who never disappoint. On Saturday, The…

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Head to St. Kilda this December to vibe with Northeast Party House and more in The Pleasure Garden

Looking forward to the warmer months? They’re so close, yet so far… The Pleasure Garden joins the festivals coming out of the woodwork this month in announcing their line ups for the tail end of 2018, encouraging music fans to start plotting out their summer days and nights out. For this jaunt, Northeast Party House, Sampa the…

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7 Artists You Gotta Listen to Ahead of This Year’s Splendour in the Grass

Splendour in the Grass is back again for another year, held this year in North Byron Parklands from the 20th-22nd of July. If you’re heading out to Splendour for the first time, chances are you’re going to have a helluva bender – what a stacked line up to pop your SITG cherry! As the weekend…

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Watch Ecca Vandal and Sampa The Great hit Sydney streets for “Your Orbit” video

“Your Orbit” brought Ecca Vandal together with Sampa The Great for one collaboration we didn’t know we had wanted so badly. Fusing confidence with fiery rhythms and lyricism, both artists combined their own unique flair to make a track that espouses female empowerment and a sick throwback vibe with the official music video. Using Sydney as their base,…

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Sampa the Great wins 2018 Australian Music Prize

Hip hop artist Sampa the Great has won the Australian Music Prize for 2018 for her debut album Birds and the BEE9, making her the thirteenth annual winner of this prize. The Zambian-born Sydney based rapper has beaten out 8 other competitors to take home the prize, securing a place among some of Australia’s best talent as…

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Groovin the Moo lands Paul Kelly, Royal Blood, Lady Leshurr & more for 2018 tour

As one of the only remaining Australian touring festivals still enjoying successes year in and year out, Groovin the Moo is an example of an event that knows its market, knows its formula for success, and knows how to execute it each year. With a line up that appeals to the younger, first-time festival demographic, as…

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The 13th AMP moves to Melbourne again in 2018; Sampa the Great, Jen Cloher & more up for top prize

The Australian Music Prize has revealed its anticipated shortlist for 2018, following a run of meetings in Sydney earlier this month by the prize’s judging panel, helmed by AMP Chairperson and Hoodoo Gurus frontman, Dave Faulkner. The panel this year welcomed producer Charles Fisher, musician Melinda Schneider and CMC’s Group Program Manager Tim Daley to the fold, as the panel deliberated…

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The 40 Best Albums of 2017

This week, we brought you an end of year list detailing some special Australian albums released this year, the Top 20 in fact, that have made their mark. With Gang of Youths‘ Go Farther in Lightness taking the Number One spot, and the likes of Jen Cloher, Ecca Vandal, Winston Surfshirt and more also featuring prominently, we revisited some of…

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The 20 Best Australian Albums of 2017!

There’s no mistaking it, 2017 has been a stellar year for Australian music. We’ve seen Aussies surge forward internationally, while the term ‘household name’ has never been truer for some as this year has rolled out. As we approach the end of 2017, we’ve put together our annual End Of list, representing the 20 Best Australian…

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Winners of the 2017 AU Awards announced; Meg Mac, Gang of Youths, Bec Sandridge & West Thebarton come out on top

Earlier in the week, we announced our annual list of acknowledgements of live music and the artists who have really made 2017 their own, via the annual AU Awards. Whether it was a breakout year for some, or a year where an acclaimed album became a defining moment in a band’s career, 2017 has provided some epic…

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Festival Review: No Spilt Milk to cry over in Canberra as Lorde headlines stellar festival event

On Saturday, the 25th of November, the Spilt Milk festival brought its A game with the weather, location and acts. Commonwealth Park in Canberra was beautiful with the lush green gardens in the sunshine with everyone’s sunny outfits to match. Starting early was Mallrat looking super cute in a green baby dress with the moves to…

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Live Review: Sampa The Great reigns supreme at St. Paul’s Cathedral for Melbourne Music Week

Saint Paul’s Cathedral has been playing host to some of Melbourne’s most talented artists over the last week. The 126 year old neo-gothic church, located in Melbourne’s CBD, proved to be a striking backdrop for the centre of Melbourne Music Week and promised a music experience like no other. On Friday, the cathedral saw Sampa…

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Single of the Day: Sampa the Great “Rhymes to the East” (2017)

Sampa the Great has continued to surge forward in the final months of 2017; just recently, she has been announced as the main support for Joey Bada$$‘ European tour and along with her latest travel plans, Sampa has been revelling in the release of new music, with her newest single coming in form of “Rhymes to…

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Music Video of the Day: Sensible J ft. Remi and Sampa the Great “Fire Sign” (2017)

Having spent a good part of the Australian autumn in the UK, the indomitable trio that is Sensible J, Remi and Sampa the Great were savvy enough to have their journey documented, eventually to be cut together for fans as Sensible J’s debut music video for “Fire Sign”. Following the trio around London and Brighton, as they took to stages…

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