Sampa The Great was won the Australian Music Prize with her album ‘Birds and the Bee9’.
Sampa The Great is Sampa Tembo, a Sydney based, Zambia born rapper.
Sampa the Great said, “I didn’t see any of this in my periphery when coming to Australia. It really means a lot to me thank you.”
Chief Executive Officer of PPCA Dan Rosen said, “On behalf of all at PPCA we congratulate Sampa The Greaton winning this year’s AMP. It was an honour to present Sampa The Great with the $30,000 prize money for what was truly a remarkable album and a worthy addition to the growing list of AMP winners that have left their mark on the Australian music scene. Support for local artists has been the cornerstone of PPCA for over 40 years, therefore we are honoured to have been the major prize sponsor of the Australian Music Prize since day one. We hope PPCA’s $30,000 contribution will assist in developing Sampa The Great’s career and help take her music to the world.”
AMP Judge Mikey Cahill said, “One of our judges summed it up well: The Birds and the BEE9 has an openness to the future. Sampa came to us from Zambia, a petite poet using hip hop and soul to connect and hit the ground gunning, piquing our interest with her debut The Great Mixtape. Then she came through with this extraordinary 13 track record. It’s not Turn-Up music, it goes super-deep. We’ll still be playing this 50 years in the future; you and your kids will be too.”
The 13th AMP Shortlist in alphabetical order is:
Beaches – ‘Second of Spring’
Darcy Baylis – ‘Intimacy & Isolation’
HTMLflowers – ‘Chrome Halo’
Jen Cloher – ‘Jen Cloher’
Jordan Rakei – ‘Wallflower’
Liars – ‘TFCF’
Paul Kelly – ‘Life is Fine’
Sampa the Great – ‘Birds and the BEE9’
The Vampires – ‘The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke’Sampa The Great’s win follows previous AMP winners:
2016 – ‘Reclaim Australia’ by A.B.Original
2015 – ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, Sometimes I Just Sit’ by Courtney Barnett
2014 – ‘Raw X Infinity’ by REMI
2013 – ‘Not Art’ by Big Scary
2012 – ‘Hyperparadise’ by Hermitude
2011 – ‘Prisoner’ by The Jezabels
2010 – ‘Bliss Release’ by Cloud Control
2009 – ‘Wonder’ by Lisa Mitchell
2008 – ‘Primary Colours’ by Eddie Current Suppression Ring
2007 – ‘Devil’s Elbow’ by The Mess Hall
2006 – ‘Moo, You Bloody Choir’ by Augie March
2005 – ‘Wait Long By The River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By’ by The Drones
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
