Sampa the Great is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia. She was based in Australia for years, but came back to Zambia in 2020, shortly before the pandemic hit. When she couldn’t travel, she decided to make her next album there in Lusaka. The album is called As Above, So Below, and it was produced by Mag44. In this episode, Sampa the Great and Mag44 break down the closing song ““Let Me Be Great,” which features vocals from legendary West African singer Angélique Kidjo, winner of 5 Grammys and one of TIME‘s Most Influential People. I got to speak to Angélique Kidjo in her studio in Paris, and I spoke to Sampa the Great and Mag44 in Lusaka. Together, the three of them tell the story of how they made “Let Me Be Great.”

You can buy or stream “Let Me Be Great” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
NPR Tiny Desk Concerts
Watch Angélique Kidjo’s 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Concert, with a guest appearance from Sampa the Great, here
Fela Kuti
Kalindula
Lozi people
Afro-pop
Afrofuturism
Yoruba language

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Everything Everywhere All at Once is a sci-fi comedy independent film that came out in the spring of 2022. It’s a huge hit that made over $100 million at the box office. It’s already been named the best movie of the year by several publications and awards organizations.

The movie stars the legendary actress Michelle Yeoh, and was directed by the Daniels, the directing duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The score for the film is by the band Son Lux. In addition to the score, Son Lux also made the original song for the film’s end credits: “This is a Life,” featuring two prestigious guest vocalists: Mitski and David Byrne of the Talking Heads.

For this episode, I spoke to Ryan Lott from Son Lux, as well as the Daniels. Ryan tells the story of how the song was created, with his bandmates and Mitski and David Byrne and Daniels all adding to it and shaping it.

You can buy or stream “This is a Life” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Listen to Mitski’s episode of Song Exploder here.
“My Heart Will Go On,” Celine Dion’s end credits song from Titanic

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Omah Lay is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer. He’s one of the young stars of Afrobeats, the West African genre that’s become a global phenomenon. His new album Boy Alone features a collaboration with Justin Bieber. But for this episode, Omah talked to me about the song “Never Forget.”  Boy Alone was Omah’s late father’s nickname, and the song “Never Forget” was inspired by him.

You can buy or stream “Never Forget” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Semzi – producer
EndSARS
Highlife

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