— Sampa the Great teams up with Denzel Curry for the release of her latest single, “Lane”, along with a brand new visual.
Over much of the past two years, Sampa The Great has been writing and recording while home in Zambia during the pandemic. She followed that hiatus with an illustrious 2020, taking home a bevy of prestigious honors including Best Female Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Solo Artist, and Best Album — just to name a few — from the ARIA Awards, Music Victoria Awards, National Live Music Awards, and others. Now, the Zambian-born Botswana-raised poet and rapper follows up her debut Coachella performance with a brand new single and music video, “Lane”, featuring Denzel Curry.
Sampa The Great aims to usher in a new era of her career with the release of “Lane”, featuring Florida-native and labelmate, Denzel Curry. “Lane” is Sampa the Great’s first official single to be released through Loma Vista Recordings, and the first taste of her own new music since her 2019 critically-acclaimed debut album, The Return.
Produced by Powers Pleasant, Jeff Kleinman, and Mason Sacks, “Lane” opens with an eerily distorted vocoded voice, playing to the tune of jilted organs and choral harmonies. A trap beat with a rolling bass melody follows the opening sequence and sets the table for Sampa’s incredibly creative flow and captivating delivery.
When talking about the track, Sampa stated,
“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.”
Denzel Curry follows Sampa and provides an electrifying jolt of energy as he barks his rapid fire verse with emphasis, authority, and meaning — further adding to the gravity of the record’s message.
Alongside the single, Sampa the Great has also released a new long-form music video directed by Rochelle Rhembard and Imraan Christian. The 6-minute visual is book-ended and balanced by Sampa’s introductory spoken-word piece “Origin”. From the depths of an underground cave, we are first introduced to Eve — the persona and blueprint of Sampa’s highest version of self. We then go from a juxtaposition of four-walled concrete rooms to Sampa’s younger self to children in black suits running through nature with automatic weapons in hand as we follow the story of Sampa’s newest journey. Denzel Curry completes the narrative in a virtual reality headset, rapping in time to spell out a dynamic ending.
Listen to “Lane” and watch the full music video right here. Also, be sure to follow Sampa the Great on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on her latest moves.