1. Sampa The Great
Sampa Tembo of Zambian decent, bred in Botswana and Australian based, is taking the Zambian music scene by storm and opening doors on the global stage with her unique rap style, too good and would be dubbed ‘foreign’ to our usual. She started music professionally in 2014 with two mixtapes under her belt: ‘The Great Mixtape” and “Heroes Act 2“. She is currently working on her debut album “The Return” scheduled for release on 13th September with current single Final form (Which is one the greatest music videos to ever be shot on Zambian soil). She is signed to an independent English record label “Ninja Tune“. She’s on tour and might be on the rise but has already shared the stage with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, Burna Boy and our very own Chef 187,who was a co-headliner at Sampa‘s tour of Lusaka. In 2017 she appeared on COLORS, which is one of the biggest platforms for American upcoming artists. She’s definitely putting Zambia on the map.
2. El Mukuka
Of Zambian/Greek decent, Eleftherios Mukuka alias El Mukuka, is an electronic music producer/DJ. He is also a songwriter with a wide range of genres from Edm to House music, having studied music at Boston College of Music in the United States Of America. He has previously worked with Abel Chungu locally and is the first Zambian artiste to be signed to Sony/Universal music. In 2013, he won a Born and Bred award for ‘Best Foreign Video’. Some songs from his impressive catalog include “Weight of the sun“, “All I need” and his version of “IRE “by Nigeria’s Adenkule Gold (which Adenkule Gold himself has shared to his YouTube channel).
3. Na7halie Sade
Na7halie Sade is a Zambian female rapper/singer based in the UK. Na7halie Sade has a unique style and works with Stefflon Don‘s producer Rymez. Her 2017 single titled Gravy featuring UK rapper Romzy featured on UK’s biggest GRM YouTube channel ,Daily GRM, getting more than 15,000 views. Bobby East the XYZ Entertainments CEO gave her a co-sign on Instagram in 2017.
4. Emeli Sandé
Born in England from an English mother and a Zambian father. Sande rose to prominence after being a featured artist on the 2009 Chipmunk track “Diamond Rings“. Based in Australia, She visited Zambia with Oxfam in 2015 for various projects when she Met and mingled with Zambian musicians like JK, Ruff Kid, CQ and producer Magg 44. In a 2016 interview with BBC, Sandé said her album “Life-changing” was inspired by her visit to Zambia. The pop star has an impressive catalogue with her music video “Hurt” getting 40m views on YouTube.
5. Katongo AKA Ms. KT
Is a Zambian born British singer, songwriter and model. She is signed to SPEEGRA UK, a music publishing company. Katongo has collaborated with various local acts including JK, Slapdee, Cactus Agony and Cleo Ice Queen. Some of her popular songs include “Kiss of Life” with Cactus Agony which earned her a Born and Bred nomination and “Tinofara” featuring Slapdee.
Honarable Mentions
1. Chembomusic
2. Chisenga FKA Crisis
3. OC Oscilliation