Zambian-born Botswana-raised poet and rapper Sampa The Great has returned with her first new music since 2019’s The Return. “Lane” features Denzel Curry and Sampa says:
“We’re not going to stay in one lane, we’re going to create multiple ones… My truest self encourages me to explore different lanes, and go beyond what I think I know of myself.”
Sampa is certainly showing multiple shades on “Lane”, shifting through several gears in the three minute banger. Her idiosyncratic voice is on full display, from the clipped words of her raps to the cooing backing vocals to the mocking mewls, we get a clear view of the rapper – and each version is effective in cutting her targets down to size; we wouldn’t want to be the one to tell her she can’t do something. Denzel drops in with a typically forceful rap like a whirling dervish that you can’t get near. His energy only serves to double down on the message that Sampa is delivering: “thinking you’re Gepetto pulling strings / you ain’t get the memo”; this is her show, and she’s gonna shine however she wants.
The video for “Lane” expands the song into a six-minute short film by Rochelle Rhembard and Imraan Christian that is bookended by the spoken-word piece “Origin”. Check that out below or listen to “Lane” on streaming platforms.
“Lane” us out on Loma Vista. Find Sampa The Great on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
