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Sep 9, 2022Scintillating and confident. ... This is music to bop to on the streets, to listen to in church with a big congregation, or to soak up alone in a room.
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Nov 1, 2022Sampa the Great may be defined by where she hails from, but she also defines herself by making heartfelt songs with a universal appeal. Although this new album is my first chance to listen to her, I somehow feel like I’ve been listening to her my whole life.
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Sep 21, 2022On As Above, So Below, just as on The Return, she makes music with incredible clarity of purpose and affirms a sense of interconnected self and heritage that makes her writing, arranging, sampling, and guest list all the more compelling. Sampa is soaring, and she’s not afraid to let everyone know.
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Sep 20, 2022Lyrically and stylistically our protagonist spreads her wings much further than before, making a statement of intent that confirms Sampa The Great is in this for the long haul. The sky really is the limit on this evidence.
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Sep 9, 2022Sampa The Great's latest offering ensures that she will remain a beacon in her home continent of Africa and beyond.
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Sep 8, 2022Her identity is permanently stamped on As Above, So Below — the album both showcases Sampa's growth as an artist and delivers on fan expectation, taking them on a journey beyond bars into Africa's rich musical heritage.
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Sep 8, 2022Tied together by a desire for authenticity and marked by a ferocious culmination of frustration and self-actualisation, As Above So Below is Tembo’s most cohesive body of work yet.
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Sep 7, 2022‘As Above, So Below’ feels more refined. It’s fair to say there’s no one else quite doing it like Sampa The Great right now.
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MojoSep 6, 2022Her uncompromising politics never come at the expense of the music. [Oct 2022, p.87]
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Sep 6, 2022The beautiful blends of genres and crisp production make ‘As Above, So Below’ an enthralling listen, and has Sampa raising the bar for herself once again.
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Sep 6, 2022The juncture of influences and styles found across Sampa the Great's new album, As Above, So Below, is tripping and magic and Sampa’s immense ability to play hard and soft is the driving core of the album.
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Sep 8, 2022A much more concise record than the sprawling, jazzy The Return, As Above similarly celebrates heritage and culture while looking inward and discussing personal issues.
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UncutSep 6, 2022Her flow has a bratty edge and unhurried, authoritative core, capable of Philly soul sweetness on “Lo Rain”, or riding low, squelching beats on “IDGAF”. ... Meanwhile, “Let Me Be Great” isa pan-African firework display celebrating her rooted rebirth. [Oct 2022, p.34]
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Sep 12, 2022On a technical level, these songs offer the best performances of Sampa’s career, but in terms of style and emotion, they fall short. Despite the homecoming mood, Sampa often sounds distant, her rhymes functional and indistinct.
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The WireOct 5, 2022The pattern repeats elsewhere: the big showcase tracks like “Never Forget” and “Let Me Be Great” sag a little under the weight of their pomposity, where deep cuts “Imposter Syndrome” and “IDGAF” just get on with showcasing her untouchable cool. [Nov 2022, p.73]