Zambian-Australian artist Sampa The Great has quickly established herself as one of the most influential voices in Australia.
Now, Sampa The Great has just released her full performance on the virtual festival Root’s Picnic.
Sampa the Great performed three incredible tracks for the 13th annual Roots Picnic event.
Roots Picnic was created by Philadelphia rap group The Roots and aims to unite some of the world’s most excellent musicians with a number of thought leaders. Although the festival was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual festival experience was created, partnering with Michelle Obama’s voting registration initiative When We All Vote to host the event.
Alongside Sampa The Great was a plethora of incredible artists including The Roots, SZA, Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, Kirk Franklin, H.E.R., G Herbo, EarthGang, Polo G, DJ D-Nice, Snoh Aalegra, and Musiq Soulchild. Many artists acknowledged the importance of justice for the Black Lives Matter Movement as well as the many ways that COVID-19 has created immense change.
After months of lockdown, and a lack of opportunity to play, Sampa Tembo was excited to perform. The performance saw her deliver three of her most incredible tracks Freedom, OMG and Final Form with the help of a talented crew of musicians. In the description of the performance, Sampa said:
“Haven’t performed with the crew in a min this was dope feels!”
June 6th saw Sampa The Great perform at a Black Lives Matter Protest in Melbourne. Tembo made a speech about her experiences as an African woman living in Australia, stating that she stood in solidarity with First Nations activists.
“As Africans on the continent, we know how it feels to be under colonial rule as those systems are still the choking us ’til this day,”
Check out the incredible live performance below:
