Her presence is proud and confident as she delivers her verses. It is a fitting introduction to “Can’t Hold Us”, a stand-alone single that pre-empts a highly anticipated album, scheduled for release in 2026, following a two-year hiatus. “Can’t Hold Us” is a fresh take on Zamrock that feels both reflective and forward-looking, arriving as the genre gains renewed global appreciation.
‘Everyone loves the middle kid story,’ Sampa begins, reflecting on her musical influences.
Undergirding Sampa the Great's pioneering career is a story distinctively marked by middles. Between Zambia and Botswana, hip-hop and Zamrock, rebellion and trailblazing, lies Sampa, a multi-hyphenate artist whose craft was born from the desire to express herself when she felt unheard. Alongside her considerable success, Sampa retains a grounded yet confident disposition that makes her all the more compelling. She is at once aware of the heights her career has reached and open about her fears and limitations.
The single is a continuation of Sampa’s experimental, genre-bending music and an ode to her Zambian heritage. In the pulsating track, Sampa offers a contemporary reimagining of Zamrock that is both sentimental and exciting. The genre, Nu Zamrock, arrives at a moment when Zamrock is experiencing a steady global resurgence. Few artists are as well placed to introduce the genre to new audiences as Sampa, who commands attention with her punchy, thought-provoking lyricism. In the striking visualiser for “Can’t Hold Us”, Sampa straddles a stool while holding a black electric guitar, draped in black and an ornate silver neckpiece. Her demeanour is proud and confident as she delivers her quintessentially stimulating raps.
“Can’t Hold Us” features contributions from her sister, Mwanjé. Having shared music since childhood, the sisters have developed a creative symbiosis that informs the production of Sampa’s signature sound. A solid fixture in Sampa’s music-making process, Mwanjé helped produce “Can’t Hold Us”, a collaboration that traces back to their earliest days, when they performed together for their parents after meals and later shared the stage.
Born at Luanshya Mine Hospital, the second of three children, Sampa describes her childhood as particularly loud. “We were all loud, and the beautiful thing my mum did was take home videos, so there’s evidence of how loud we were.” Amid this nurturing chaos, Sampa was given ample space to communicate her emotions. The genesis of some of Sampa’s earliest raps can be traced back to poetry books that her mother encouraged her children to keep.
Although her creative streak was evident from an early age, Sampa still had to conform to the traditional career expectations prevalent in African households. Sampa found a loophole by pursuing a career in audio engineering, blending her affinity for music with her inclination towards technology. Granted, these spheres may appear worlds apart, but in Sampa, they present as an interest in the inner workings of systems and a capacity to synthesise and convey information succinctly and artfully.
Sampa began her path in audio engineering with a scholarship to an American university. However, just two years later, she returned to her family in Botswana, finding life in America difficult. The cost of living and stark cultural differences took their toll on a relatively young Sampa. Unsure of what to make of her life and seeking a fresh start, she saw an opportunity when her older sister decided to move to Australia around the same time. She made the impulsive decision to move with her. What seemed like an uncertain leap became formative when Sampa discovered a venue in Sydney that hosts weekly jazz and hip-hop freestyle sessions. She threw her hat into the ring and was met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the crowd. There, Sampa met a producer, began working with him on music, and subsequently released a project that garnered considerable attention.
Despite Australia's booming music industry, hip-hop was still an underground genre when Sampa began finding her footing. She describes the genre as deeply rooted in African American culture, often used to convey the experiences of the marginalised. When her music reached a wider audience, they were simultaneously introduced to novel perspectives and a fresh sound that helped propel her career forward. Sampa has won the Australian Music Prize twice: for Birds and the BEE9 and The Return.
As a pioneer of Zambia’s hip-hop industry, Sampa found herself at the forefront of a growing movement and bore the weight of its expectations. She stresses the precariousness of occupying such a delicate position. “Even now, I am still trying to represent myself. Let alone everybody else. I didn’t even know how to represent this.”
Despite her global success, Sampa has never forgotten her roots. By returning to Zambia as part of her promotional run, she fully embraces her Zambianness and cultural pride. “Can’t Hold Us” is an ode to Zambian culture and an invitation to join a movement. In a raw conversation with local personality Mix Kasamwa, the duo discuss the power of embracing the self. Nu Zamrock, as a genre, is a statement of power and the spark currently setting Zambia’s alternative art scene ablaze. It is about embracing Zambian culture, taking what is already ours and turning it into something bold and unapologetic. As self-described in her lyrics: “Can’t hold a flame that’s reborn. I’m like an everlasting spark, can’t jump the way that I’m on. I know the seeds that I’ve sown and I gave birth to all this fruit just so that I could live on”. Sampa has already lit the flame and, in her return, sounds the call to others to carry it forward and be proudly Nu Zamrock and proudly Zambian.
This ethos extends beyond the stage. In a cooking collaboration with Wood Kitchen, Sampa creates a Zamrock salad complete with tempura chikanda, demonstrating that Nu Zamrock can infuse every aspect of Zambian expression. She jokingly describes “Can’t Hold Us” as a deep-fried sweet potato, crispy but still sweet, with some sauce on the side. This analogy captures the genre’s ability to honour tradition while embracing newness.
In an unforgettable culmination and tribute to her Zambian roots, Sampa took to the stage at a block party held alongside the Lusaka Thrift Market, a monthly gathering of the alternative art and fashion community. Clad in a bootleg denim ensemble and an afro, Sampa belted verse after verse alongside local artists Ari and J-Trigga. Her commanding stage presence does not betray the fact that she found herself on the verge of quitting in 2023. “If you’re going to turn to music as a job, just know that it’s going to be gruelling,” she often shares with upcoming artists. On persisting amid adversity, Sampa comments, “You’re going to have to wear armour and do the thing because it’s not an easy one.”
Sampa’s artistic delivery, across both music and visuals, is consistent in its articulation of her Zambian heritage and global citizenship. Her deep cultural pride and commitment to her artistry are endearing, even as she adjusts her delivery to fit different audiences and refreshes her sets to keep her shows interesting and unpredictable. A self-described ambivert, Sampa feels comfortable performing for large crowds and being alone. While many artists find themselves jarred by this juxtaposition, Sampa finds the bombardment of thousands of opinions and the act of turning her love for music into a career particularly overwhelming.
She takes the armour metaphor seriously. The closing shot of “Can’t Hold Us” features Sampa clad in medieval armour. In this regard, it is clear that Sampa is continuing her rebellious, genre-bending streak with Nu Zamrock, her unique reimagining of Zamrock that positions her, once again, in the middle, between two attendants removing the armour in slow motion, signalling that nothing can hold her.
