Sampa The Great releases “Bona” off upcoming album (listen)
Sampa The Great released another track from her upcoming album As Above, So Below (out September 9 via Loma Vista). "Bona" is a dynamic and danceable single, with production coming from Zambian great Mag44 and Sampa herself (her first official producer credit). Sampa fuses hip hop with Kwaito and Amapiano, two genres of music she heard growing up in Botswana. She says:
I haven’t yet shown the influence Botswana has had on me musically; this is the style, language and swag of Batswana youth. “Bona” is a chance for me to shine light on other elements of music that I was influenced by when growing up, outside of Zambian music. I want to bring a Southern African anthem to the mix and DJ desks, and show that there’s an array of music coming out of Africa, on top of Afrobeats.
Listen to "Bona" below, alongside the list of Sampa The Great's upcoming dates–including Lollapalooza this week.
We just caught Sampa in NYC over the weekend (check out pics), and she's on Barack Obama's summer playlist.
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
Wed July 27 – Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
Thurs July 28 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Thurs August 4 – Happy Valley, OR – Picakthon
Fri August 12 – Seattle, WA – Fisher Pavillion
Sat August 13 – Victoria, BC, CA – Phillips Backyard