Albums to watch

The Return

Sampa The Great

The Return

Debut full-length album from the Zambia-born, Melbourne-based rapper Sampa Tembo

ADM rating[?]

7.5

Label
Ninja Tune
UK Release date
13/09/2019
US Release date
13/09/2019
  1. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    Sampa the Great's The Return is both a willfully enigmatic and deeply revealing album. It serves as a dazzling celebration of her cultural and musical heritage that will resonate for years to come
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  2. 9.0 |   Uncut

    An emotionally rich and stylistically broad mediation on homeland, exile and identity. Print edition only

  3. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Could do with some editing as it's unwieldy 78 minutes risk losing the audience before its finest songs: the epic, autobiographical title track, and the redemptive, gospel-soaked closer Made Us better. Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   Q

    The Return may feel long and complex, but time and space reveal a unique new voice. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   All Music

    Full of insight and inspiration, The Return is an impressive, powerful work
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  6. 8.0 |   Clash

    With 'The Return', Sampa The Great expertly dismantles the notion of genre, proving that, when it comes to art, what really matters is content, not labels
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  7. 7.3 |   Pitchfork

    On her breakout debut, the promising Melbourne rapper wrestles with big ideas about peace, family, and home
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  8. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    This is a talent to watch, The Return laying down an impressive statement of intent, a marker of Sampa The Great’s potential. This will surely grow with subsequent releases, and it is exciting to think of where she could go next
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  9. 7.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    It’s a defiant debut and one that people will be coming back to for years to come
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  10. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    She’s charismatic and her challenges to western orthodoxy are welcome, but Sampa needs to find a fresher sonic palette
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