Sampa the Great named EQUAL Africa artist for September

Sampa the Great joins a growing list of influential artists featured in the programme, including Sio, Ayra Starr, Aṣa, Gyakie, Somi, DBN Gogo and Soraia Ramos.

The EQUAL campaign seeks to address gender imbalance by shining the spotlight on women artists and podcast creators globally. The initiative offers musicians in Africa with the resources they need to accelerate their careers, and forms part of the streaming platform’s EQUAL Hub, which was launched in commemoration of International Women’s Day.

“Spotify is so excited to have Sampa the Great as our EQUAL Africa artist for September,” Spotify’s head of music for sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu, said. “She is a powerful artist who has a courageous, young mind and is determined to beat all the odds stacked up against her.”

Born Sampa Tembo, Sampa the Great’s music fuses a diverse mix of sounds including abstract hip hop and neo soul with African influences. She was raised in Botswana and later relocated to the US and eventually to Australia where the hip hop scene in Sydney would become the launchpad for her music career.

“As a Zambian woman artist whose career started outside her country, it feels like a full circle moment to be able to relocate back home,” she said about her latest work. “Creating a whole album in Zambia and showcasing the range, different genres and amazing art that’s coming from the continent has been a big goal that I’ve infused into a new wave and genre called ‘hybrid’ music.”

The artist’s milestone on Spotify follows her inclusion on former US president Barack Obama’s 2022 summer playlist alongside Nigeria’s Burna Boy and Tems.