“Let Me Be Nice (feat. Angélique Kidjo)”
Sampa the Nice is a songwriter, rapper, and singer from Zambia. She was based mostly in Australia for years, however got here again to Zambia in 2020, shortly earlier than the pandemic hit. When she couldn’t journey, she determined to make her subsequent album there in Lusaka. The album is known as As Above, So Beneath, and it was produced by Mag44. On this episode, Sampa the Nice and Mag44 break down the closing tune ““Let Me Be Nice,” which options vocals from legendary West African singer Angélique Kidjo, winner of 5 Grammys and one in all TIME‘s Most Influential Individuals. I obtained to talk to Angélique Kidjo in her studio in Paris, and I spoke to Sampa the Nice and Mag44 in Lusaka. Collectively, the three of them inform the story of how they made “Let Me Be Nice.”
You should buy or stream “Let Me Be Nice” right here.
Illustration by Carlos Lerma.
NPR Tiny Desk Concert events
Angélique Kidjo’s 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Live performance, with a visitor look from Sampa the Nice, right here
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Lozi individuals
Afro-pop
Afrofuturism
Yoruba language