Zambian-Australian rapper/songwriter Sampa The Great returned this week after a three-year hiatus with “Lane,” her first new song since her 2019 debut album, The Return. The dreamy new song receives an assist from Denzel Curry, who contributes a searing verse, and Rochelle Rhembard and Imraan Christian, who direct the surreal music video. The video finds Sampa meditating in a picturesque grotto and features child versions of the two rappers running around with rose-shooting rifles. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that the face on Sampa’s top appears to be “alive,” as well.
In a press release, Sampa explains the concept behind the song: “We’re not going to stay in one lane, we’re going to create multiple ones,” she says. “My truest self encourages me to explore different lanes, and go beyond what I think I know of myself.”
While the eclectic and underrated artist has been out of the limelight for the past two years, she hasn’t been idle. During the pandemic, she moved back to Zambia, where she spent the last two years writing and recording her upcoming album, which is due later this year via Loma Vista. Throughout that time, she performed virtually for festivals like Afropunk and the Roots Picnic, while her music was heard in nationwide commercials for Ikea and Truly Hard Seltzer. She recently made her Coachella debut, kicking off a stateside festival run that will include Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and Pickathon.
Watch the “Lane” video above and stay tuned.