"All I want is to return..."
The Hip-Hop genre on the continent of Africa has been rocked and inspired by a plethora of sources and terrains of inspiration. In the whim and wind of free-thinking the ajar worlds, separated by the sea and the hands of time. Standing by the doors of no return, the soul of the African seeks to return to its former self through rhythmical wordplay that is worldly yet timeless. As the winds of inspiration carry the legs light over the sea of words, I am taken aback to gaze-, and ogle at the Atlantic ocean as I am reminded of my kindred that was kidnapped, sold by their kindred-, and many were plundered by the colonialists and slave traders that viewed and saw it fitting to exert their godly righteousness to its other people or races in the name of religion, law, and power. The enlightenment of the soul is then frozen in time passed on from one generation to another. Dating back to the times of Miriam Makeba, racing to the days of Thomas Mapfumo we get to understand that free thinking has been the vehicle for African liberation. A person that is not aware of its history is like a compass without a needle. Then we are brought to the worldly view of Sampa The Great, The Zambian-born rapper is a force to reckon with when it comes to lacing words of wisdom against an Afro-jazz hip hop inspired beat. The Return by Sampa the Great is a masterpiece on its own. Zambia raise your hands up, Africa raise your hands up, the Queen of Hip Hop music has arrived. In as much as there are other MCs on the continent and industry, Sampa is just in her own lane and her own league. Others seek to use other means to substaniate their claim to the rapping game. Sampa does not need any of the gimmicks to prove a point all she has done is give us the amazing body of work that speaks about the African in the present time, the album to me becomes a personal interactive space or window because I am experiencing the life of an immigrant trying to make its claim in this polarised world "enough of me, let's revert back to the Kween".
The Return by Sampa the Great, is a masterclass a rare gem on the Hip-hop scene, and what a time to be alive. The rapper's full name is Sampa Tembo, hails from Zambia, and has extensively grown up in various parts of the world. To me, I suggest that the globetrotting part of her life has had an influence on her music and pen game. Which saw her manifest a timeless body of work that reminds the wondering soul that home is where the heart is. I am reminded of the phrase, "you can take me out of Africa, but you cannot take the African out of me". In a space and time where conscious rap is shunned because the machine is dictating the quality and quantity of the music that is and should be produced on the circuit. Sampa to me has mastered the art of dropping conscious nuclear bombs and still appealing to the machine. She has graced Coachella 2022, and her performance was as spectacular as always, the neon soul of Africa and the world coming together is an explosion of a well-curated work of art that not only serves to entertain the masses to the acute and attention you are also given your fair share of serving that always keeps you in the realm of consciousness. To be fair to you right now, listening to conscious rap is not about looking for the devil in the church-, or looking for the baboon in the mountain. In one's view, conscious rap's intention is to keep the consumer aware and alive in this polarised world where realms are constantly at odds with each other. In space where the real reason Hip-hop came to be regarded as a work of art the same way as classical music, rock-, and roll. It was and is a movement that challenges or rebels against the machine and the system. That has for over five centuries and counting is still messing up people's lives based on the virtue of being in authority and then consciously messing up people's lives in the name of the divine right to be the custodians of this realm. Therefore hip-hop understanding that the ills of society within the black community and the black culture are not preserved there and then we were brought into witnessing the rise of gangster rap in the naughties that was rocked by the likes of Niggers With Attitude, Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Grand Master Flex and the Furious Five, MF DOOM "all caps when you mention the man's name", Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, RUN DMC. Hip hop was not deemed appealing and also attractive to the gatekeepers, the ground reflected otherwise. Therefore, the genre's potential of being a commercial success and reaping off the backs of black expression art. There and then saw the rise of pop-rap the type of rap that is modeled against the needs and wants of record label executives casting away the surreal art of expressionism as it stands morally in carrying the voices of the marginalised and seeking to raise awareness of the ills that the rapper talking about. In the hopes of bringing societal mass consciousness and then finding means and ways that are sustainable to the community. In essence, the art of rhyming against a beat that is jazzy inspired or traditionally inspired is to at least communicate through sound to the community the need to change and to change for the good. Therefore bodies of work such as Water by Nikita Dawson and The Return by Sampa the Great serve as a reminder of the need to cleanse ourselves and then return to our homes, the true home, it is either returning to yourself or returning home. Therefore the double entendre of the title itself is a trojan horse into the subconscious mind that is trying to rationalise the real world and the ideal world. In this same breath and wind, the whim of finding the north star in the space of madness becomes an existential crisis that inspires action. Therefore we are then brought to this point, upon looking at the cover art of the album, The Return. It is worth noting that we are introduced to a plethora of conflicts, we see Sampa seated wearing all-white apparel to her left "your right" there is a body that is dressed in Zambian traditional attire and then there is a house that is built of bricks. One might suggest that it is the conflict between modernity and culture, where does the African stand, who is the African in the space where black voices are not heeded nor even tolerated as they are dubbed and witnessed interpreted as insignificant. So to me, I suggest that Sampa, is not only reminding or preparing the listener for an Afro-surreal experience but you are part of the experience. I am not sure what you are going to evoke after going through the body of work I am sure you are going to understand yourself. In essence, Sampa the Great, reminds me of the song by Lauryn Hill off her album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" the track's title is Zion. The juxtaposition here is that Zion is home, as an individual you are bound to return home therefore the title The Return. Furthermore, the point is metaphorically affirmed by the house that is behind Sampa. A home in accordance with the African eye-, is a place of rejuvenation, a place where the bearings are brought back to alignment. We live in a space littered and laid with different types of energies, and we are bound to veer off course as we interact with various bodies of energy that attempt to veer one-off course. Therefore this title by Sampa is the necessary introduction and preparation for any unsuspecting soul. That intends to listen to an enlightening body of work. Understanding the commercialisation and the sexualisation of female MC's in the industry. The type of singing or songwriting is then inspired by the commodity that is always in high demand "sex" or "sex appeal". Sampa has navigated around that space or lens giving music lovers a body of work that is reminding them of the true intention of hip-hop music. Sampa evokes the royalty of hip hop music, especially the fundamental role that women across the continent of Africa have played in evoking mass consciousness. Thus in listening to The Return, the album is a body of Afro-Surrealism, a body of Afro-realism all converging at a time where and when the African is seeking understanding of itself as it carries out its existence with due diligence. The body of work echoes the views of the magnum opus of Kendrick Lamar, "Section 80, Good Kid Maad City, To Pimp A Butterfly, and Damn". Therefore not only Sampa has given us a poetic sonic, but she has given us a timeless work of art. It takes the attentive ear to grapple with the consciousness of Sampa the great and her magnum opus. In the track Final Form: "Y'all already comfortable stuck up in the matrix", the idea behind the matrix is that you can never escape the matrix, you cannot run away from the matrix, but you can glitch the matrix. You can become the matrix as you are part of the matrix. In one's view the matrix is that space of mental and moral consciousness that understands the hinges and the codes that trickle down as it has not only enslaved all, but as well as boxed us. In a guinea pig caught up in a wheel type of situation. Becoming the matrix is at least expressing yourself to the extent that a part of yourself is inked against the walls as hieroglyphs are printed on the walls of the pyramids of Egypt or the Khoi wall paintings. Upsetting the matrix is seeking one's liberation, as institutions of higher learning are focusing on assembling the best bot worthy of the matrix's needs the bot that does not meet the criteria of the matrix then becomes the glitch that seeks to dismantle the conveyor belt. In essence institutions of higher learning are churning, assembling, and releasing bots that are comfortable serving the matrix however, they are failing to solve their own problems. Give that bot a lifespan of four to five decades after serving the matrix it is spewed out and replaced with another. It has never actualised in its twenties, thirties, and on. Therefore what is the point of existing when the being itself struggles to find its purpose. In essence, Sampa in that line is encouraging mass consciousness into embracing the Afro-surreal experience that is advocating for freedom of the mind and soul. The track Heaven: "Have I told you 'bout the time where I almost died? Almost tried to fit in with the new tribe", the track embraces the existential reality of fitting in as an outsider. In the wake of mass human migration, the body and soul as they are traveling the passage of they are caught up in space of yearning to belong. The track telepathically communicates back to the title of the album The Return. Lastly, The Return: "Mirror Mirror On the wall, Who's the blackest of us all..." this track is the rosetta stone of the louvre of this magnum opus. The track speaks about the soul that is screaming and seeking to be found in itself, within a plethora of casted souls that are seeking themselves within themselves. This track is a spiritual track, a prayer, a dua, worship, a surreal escape to the vulnerable. As the globe is witnessing mass migration of human beings. The battle of fitting in and at the same time holding on to yourself becomes a battle for anyone that is going through the immigration battles. From an outsider trying to find their place in this world sometimes writing down what I feel becomes the only avenue, I can take at this moment as myself is searching for myself. In essence, I might be afraid of tomorrow thus I preserve myself within these words that I have weaved to show my appreciation through praising Sampa's amazing body of work.
In conclusion, this album is a magnum opus, it is a prayer, a body of Afro-surreal experience, that is timeless and has rivaled, surpassed the already set-, and determined to be the elite music meant for the masses. I am excited to see and hear what Sampa is going to take us next. This Album is a must listen over and over again until you are tired, Sampa has outdone herself. To top it off she is a Grammy Award winner, that Grammy nod cements Sampa as one of the best in our era.
Congratulations to Sampa the Great!
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