THE WORLD'S BEST NEW MUSIC

Sampa Tembo, performing as Sampa the Great, is a Zambian-born hip-hop icon and poet whose career bridges Southern Africa and Australia. After establishing her artistic footprint in Melbourne’s inner-north scene, her music has evolved into a global beacon of pan-African identity, female empowerment, and cultural reclamation. Her work seamlessly merges heavy hip-hop flows, soulful R&B, and traditional African polyrhythms. On Nu Zamrock, she returns to her roots, updating the rebellious, psych-fused 1970s Zamrock movement pioneered by bands like WITCH and Musi-O-Tunya for a new global era. The album's spoken word content includes dialogue and words from her blood uncle George "Groovy Joe" Kunda, who co-founded the mythic WITCH.

Nu Zamrock opens with a striking, spoken "Intro" in which Sampa articulates the album's core thesis: a vision of cosmopolitanism grounded in ancestral pride. Refusing to reduce her global journey across continents to displacement, she frames her international trajectory as a beacon of modern African cosmopolitanism - carrying Zambia everywhere while claiming her place in the wider world. This philosophy fuels sixteen dynamic tracks. Fuzzy guitar riffs, thunderous live drums, and syncopated basslines lock into Sampa’s authoritative rap delivery on highlights like "Can't Hold Us" (featuring Mwanjé) and the blazing "Location". Pop feature cuts like the Sia guest vocal on "Supernova" further broaden the album's sonic borders without compromising its core grit. 

Nu Zamrock stands as a monumental, deeply resonant beacon of heritage and forward motion.