Sampa The Great Announces Third Album 'Nu Zamrock', Shares New Single 'Simon Says'

Sampa the Great returns next month with her third LP, Nu Zamrock, out Friday 30 October via Loma Vista Recordings.

Executive produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Cadenze, the record ushers in the next chapter in the Zambian musician and rapper's career and was born out of rediscovering her identity.

Reconnecting with her family back in Zambia, Sampa learned that her blood uncle George Kunda (Groovy Joe) was a founding member of Zambia's legendary psychedelic rock band WITCH, who helped pioneer the 1970s movement known as Zamrock – a fusion of rock, funk, and African rhythm.

This realisation became the heartbeat of Nu Zamrock, with Sampa reimagining Zamrock through her own eyes, expanding the sound to include hip hop, poetry and soul.

"Zamrock is part of my family legacy," Sampa says. "It's my voice. Being Zambian, being loud, being defiant — that’s what Zamrock is.

"Nu Zamrock is not nostalgia. It is the future remembering where it came from. This album is a reclamation of my lineage and bloodline: it is my homage to the disruptive, rebellious spirit that Zamrock represented at its peak and carried Zambia forward with, reintroducing the genre to the world, in my own way."

Excited for fans to hear the album, Sampa has given everyone a new taste with the release of the defiant single 'Simon Says'.

A follow-up to last year's 'Can't Hold Us (feat. Mwanjé)', which was featured on EA's FC26, 'Simon Says' is a buzzing two-minute track that demonstrates Sampa's prowess on the mic over a rock-rap production.

“This track is my honest reflection on the pressure of visibility – being watched, judged, and shaped by endless rules," explains Sampa. "What should a 'star' look or act like? The industry seems to value numbers over artistry. 'Simon Says' critiques the industry, where 'Simon' is the system telling artists how to be."

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Nu Zamrock arrives after 2022's acclaimed As Above, So Below, the follow-up to her breakthrough 2019 debut album The Return.

The four-time ARIA Award winner and two-time Australian Music Prize winner, the first to ever claim the award twice, is not only an Australian superstar but a global music trendsetter who has taken to the stage at The Roots Picnic, been on NPR’s Tiny Desk series and performed Later…With Jools Holland.

An artist who continues to evolve with each record, Sampa The Great's Nu Zamrock is one of the most anticipated albums of the year that's sure to produce a slew of memorable anthems.

'Simon Says' is out now. Listen here. Nu Zamrock is out Friday 30 October via Loma Vista Recordings. Pre-save here.