Zambia: Sampa the Great shares new single Can’t Hold Us

The release follows a live preview of the track in Brixton last month during a performance with streamer DJ AG. Sampa has also announced a free block party in Lusaka on 22 November, organised in partnership with the Lusaka Thrift Market, a collective known for its monthly fashion and art pop-up events. Proceeds from the event will be reinvested into the local creative community. In September, she issued another exclusive track, ‘GOAT’, for the soundtrack of the film HIM.

Sampa’s latest work forms part of what she describes as a new artistic phase, in which she reinterprets elements of Zamrock – a blend of rock, funk and African rhythms – by merging them with hip-hop, spoken word and soul. She refers to this approach as “Nu Zamrock”.

‘Can’t Hold Us’ is positioned as the first indication of Sampa’s forthcoming third album. It follows her previous projects As Above, So Below (2022) and The Return (2019), the latter earning multiple awards including the Australian Music Prize, which she became the first artist to win twice. Her work has received international attention, with appearances at The Roots Picnic, NPR’s Tiny Desk series, AFROPUNK and Later… with Jools Holland. She has also received support from figures such as Michelle Obama, Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and Annie Mac.