Sampha

Sampha Sisay is a South London singer, songwriter, keyboardist and producer from Morden, United Kingdom. His music combines electronic, pop and R&B elements, and is also described through alternative R&B, contemporary R&B, hip hop soul and pop soul. His vocal style is notable for its fragile, emotive delivery.

Early career and first releases

Sampha starts making music in his early teenage years. He first draws wider attention in 2009 with a remix of the xx track “Basic Space”. That leads to a busy period across 2010 and 2011, when he works with SBTRKT, Jessie Ware and Lil Silva, and releases his first solo EP, Sundanza, on Young Turks.

In 2013 he appears on Drake’s “Too Much” and Beyoncé’s “Mine”, and releases Dual, his second EP for Young Turks. The record presents a sparse, abstract sound and places his voice at the centre of the arrangements.

Collaborations

Sampha builds a reputation as a collaborator and remixer across underground and mainstream music. He works with SBTRKT, Jessie Ware, Drake, Beyoncé and Kanye West, and later contributes to recordings by Florence + the Machine, Alicia Keys and Actress. He also appears on projects and releases involving Lil Silva, Bullion, FKA twigs, Frank Ocean, Solange, Richard Russell’s Everything Is Recorded, Loyle Carner, Headie One and Fred again..

In 2016 he appears on Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, Frank Ocean’s Endless and Solange’s A Seat at the Table. His own songs “Timmy’s Prayer” and “Blood on Me” arrive by the end of that year as early previews of his first album.

Process and later work

His debut album, Process, is released in 2017 after being recorded while he is grieving the death of his mother. The album reaches number seven in the UK, enters the US chart just outside the top 50, and wins the Mercury Prize. It also receives Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards Album of the Year. An expanded bonus edition of the album appears in 2022 and adds two tracks that were previously available only in Japan.