Sampa The Great made waves with As Above, So Below last September.
“If Sampa The Great was a man, her new album As Above, So Below would already be in the conversation as one of the top five rap albums of the year,” Uproxx’s Aaron Williams leveled while reviewing the album. “As it is, I have to be Thanos in this situation and do it myself; Sampa’s new album doesn’t just deserve to be considered one of the top five rap albums of 2022… it is.”
Sampa gave more people an opportunity to arrive at the same conclusion last night, April 19, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She brought along Angélique Kidjo to perform “Let Me Be Great,” their closing track of As Above, So Below, with an assist from The Roots.
It was an evening of Black excellence all around, as Sampa The Great and Angélique Kidjo met former United States First Lady Michelle Obama, a guest on the episode.
“LEGENDS ONLY!” Sampa captioned her Instagram photo. “What an honour.”
Sampa doesn’t need permission to be great, and she reflected on where she’s arrived last October when her As Above, So Below track “Never Forget” featuring Chef 187, Mwanjé, and Tio Nason soundtracked the official trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“Can you imagine!” Sampa tweeted at the time. “Me … A non-Billboard charting ass, No huge awards having ass, non Viral ass, No sold-out arena tour having ass Independent artist. Whose song is on a Black Panther trailer! This how God works. Thankful!!”
Watch Sampa in her element with Kidjo on Fallon above.