Nu Zamrock: Sampa the Great’s hyper-personal, hyper-political new genre

In the early 1970s, Zambia experienced a brief golden age. Freed from the British Empire and rapidly developing its rich copper mines across the country, the Southern African country was in the throes of an economic boom. It was a time of optimism and cultural vibrancy captured by ‘Zamrock’, an offshoot of psychedelic rock that mixed the influence of bands like Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix with funk and distinctly Zambian rhythms. It’s the sound of a country finding its own footing in the 20th century, spearheaded by now-legendary bands like Musi-O-Tunya, The Ngozi Family and WITCH.

The movement soon lost momentum as Zambia entered a prolonged economic crisis, intensified by political instability and the devastation of the AIDS epidemic. But 50 years on from Zamrock’s creation, Zambia entered another period of political optimism in 2021, when longtime opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema defeated incumbent president Edgar Lungu. His promises to “grow Zambia” and revive the country’s economy helped galvanise younger voters. While the jury is still out on the success of these promises, that sense of renewal has now been crystallised in a new genre: Nu Zamrock, coined by 33-year-old Zambian rapper Sampa the Great.

“In 2020, we’d just elected a new president and the country was full of change and vibrancy; it was almost the same conditions under which Zamrock was created,” Sampa says over a video call about the roots behind the genre – also forming the name of her third studio album, releasing tomorrow (October 30). “A lot of African music has gone global recently – Afrobeats, amapiano – and, now, Zambia is looking for a voice to show the world. I think Zamrock is one of those genres, so it felt fitting to call my album Nu Zamrock, not only sound-wise, but creatively.” 

Infusing the legendary Zambian rock genre with Sampa’s signature, raspy, DMX-like rap vocals and soulful compositions, Nu Zamrock soundtracks what she hopes will be a “revolutionary” moment in her country’s history. But beneath the surface, the album is also rooted in a very personal story.

It all started around 2019. Having first risen to prominence while studying audio engineering at the University of Sydney, Australia, in the mid-2010s, Sampa had reached a crossroads. “I was being propped up as this Australian hip-hop hope, but I hadn’t even gained that right,” she recalls of this time, slightly embittered by articles which repeatedly marginalised her Zambian heritage. “I wasn’t born there, I wasn’t raised there, I didn’t even know enough about the experiences of artists – particularly Black artists – there to claim [their voice].”

So, despite regularly cleaning up at major Australian award ceremonies, Sampa eventually decided to “take her career backwards” and return home to Zambia. Her 2022 album, As Above, So Below, traced this journey of rediscovery, setting her incendiary rap vocals over Zambian and Southern African musical influences and alongside fellow African artists like her sister Mwanjé, Beninese icon Angélique Kidjo and Jagari Chanda, lead singer of Zamrock legends WITCH. It was through that latter collaboration that Sampa stumbled across an earth-shattering revelation.

Sometimes you have silent pioneers who don’t see the fruits of their labour, and [Uncle George] is one of those people. 

“I discovered that not only was my uncle a pioneer of Zamrock, but he created WITCH – the band that literally introduced me to the genre!” she explains, still wide-eyed with shock. Despite Zamrock’s cult status over the last few decades (this one Spotify playlist dedicated to the genre boasts over 40,000 saves), Sampa discovered the genre rather late – only seeking out WITCH after hearing “Living in the Past” in a 2019 episode of HBO’s Watchmen.

“Towards the end of our collaboration, Mr. Chanda was like, ‘Oh, did you know your uncle created this genre?’,” Sampa continues, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. “I immediately went back home, and I was like, ‘Dad, what is this genre? Who are these people?’ He was just like, ‘Oh, yes, your Uncle George, he made a band once’. I was so annoyed! ‘Why are you so casual about this? Why does nobody tell me things!?’ I could have used that information when I started my career.”

But soon, the anger gave way to joy. “Once we made the connection with Uncle George, my sister and I just cried,” she concludes. “He started telling us stories of creating Zamrock, and I decided my next project had to pay homage to this man. Sometimes you have silent pioneers who don’t see the fruits of their labour, and he is one of those people. He encouraged Zambians to be experimental with their voice.”

Framed by interlude conversations between Sampa and her Uncle George, the ensuing project attempts to wake the sleeping giant of Zamrock once more – and channel some of Zambia’s renewed optimism with it. “Can you feel that beat? I believe in second chances,” arrives a haunting refrain across Nu Zamrock’s opening tracks before exploding with “Simon Says”, a psychedelic hip-hop cut that symbolically casts off the boxes and labels that had constrained Sampa throughout her career. “You say all my haters is talking, I say shut the fuck up instead,” she roars on the track.

“It was a metamorphosis,” she explains of writing “Simon Says”, later releasing it as the album’s lead single. “It’s funny when people tell me I sound angry [on it] – no, I felt liberated, like this surge of energy that I hadn’t tapped into before. It’s about my frustrations with the music industry, but also questioning whether there’s a right way to create. I’ve been taught this and that by different companies, and been chopped up and edited to the point where I wasn’t even recognisable to myself anymore, so instead I decided just to share [my art] in its rawest form.” In both her personal career and the wider story she is telling about Zambia, “Simon Says” arrives as a hard-fought statement of independence.

But above all, Sampa wishes the lasting legacy of Nu Zamrock to be one of optimism for Zambia’s future, centred on the young Zambians who will shape it. Zambian collaborators, she explains proudly, were involved across every part of the project: production from local legend Mag 44; tours alongside an all-Zambian backing band wearing white chitenge robes courtesy of Zambian designer Prime Slick; and album artwork shot by 23-year-old photographer Abu Dumbuya in Lusaka, the country’s capital.

If the original Zamrock was cut short by the economic and political crises that followed Zambia’s 1970s boom, then Sampa is determined that Nu Zamrock has the fuel to go the distance. “This one is all about inspiring the kids to do something that will travel beyond where they’re from,” she concludes.

Nu Zamrock releases October 30.