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Song Exploder

Sampa the Great - Let Me Be Great (feat. Angélique Kidjo)

Song Exploder

Hrishikesh Hirway

Music

4.86.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sampa The Great is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia. She was based in Australia for years, but came back to Zambia in 2020, shortly before the pandemic hit. When she couldn’t travel, she decided to make her next album there in Lusaka. The album is called As Above, So Below, and it was produced by Mag44.

In this episode, Sampa the Great and Mag44 break down the closing song "Let Me Be Great," which features vocals from legendary West African singer Angélique Kidjo, winner of 5 Grammys and one of TIME’s Most Influential People. I got to speak to Angélique Kidjo in her studio in Paris, and I spoke to Sampa the Great and Mag44 in Lusaka. Together, the three of them tell the story of how they made "Let Me Be Great."

For more, visit songexploder.net/sampa-the-great.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made.

0:06.5

I'm Rishikesh Herway.

0:10.9

This episode contains explicit language.

0:14.4

Samphitha Great is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia.

0:18.1

She was based in Australia for years, but came back to Zambia in 2020, shortly before the pandemic hit.

0:23.6

And then, when she couldn't travel, she decided to make her next album there in Lusaka.

0:28.0

The album is called As Above, So Below, and it was produced by Mag44.

0:32.5

In this episode, Samphitha Great and Mag44 breakdown the closing song Let Me Be Great,

0:37.5

which features vocals from legendary West African singer Angelique Kijo, winner of five Grammys and one of Time Magazine's most influential people.

0:45.8

I got to speak to Angelique Kijo in her studio in Paris, and I spoke to Samphitha Great and Mag44 in Lusaka.

0:51.8

And together, the three of them tell the story of how they made Let Me Be Great.

0:58.8

I am Samphitha Tambor, also known as Samphitha Great.

1:22.8

I am Magnas Mando, also known as Mag44.

1:26.8

I actually was a huge fan of Mag44.

1:30.8

Loved his work. He was part of a label called Lo Ta House.

1:34.8

The stuff they were doing when they came out to me was like, oh my gosh, Zambians can do music like this.

1:40.8

This is wow. Like to me, like set the standard in my head as this high school kid who wanted to do music beyond where I'm from.

1:48.8

And Mag was given my songs by my cousin Steven. And my cousin told him that this is an artist who's amazing.

1:59.8

You'd want to work with this artist. And Mag literally ghosted the messages.

2:08.8

And was like, I have important celebrity things to do.

2:12.8

I don't have time for this little university girl who's trying to rap. Tell your side.

2:18.8

To be fair. So yes, this is the way my line of work is. I get a lot of people who say, oh, there's this artist who's amazing.

...

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