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By Hannah Louise Phillips
Image: Young Turks
It has been three and a half years since Sampha’s first EP was released. Fans were expecting his debut album to be delivered to them by the end of 2016 but the release was delayed and we were left to wait in anticipation until early 2017. So, the question is, was Process worth the wait?
The 27-year-old singer/songwriter’s talents have been recognised by the likes of Drake and Frank Ocean. Sampha postponed the release of his own album to appear on some big artist’s tracks including Kanye West and Jessie Ware and after all this time, he finally has the spotlight he deserves.
Due to the tragic loss of his mother to cancer back in 2015, the same year his first EP was to be released, Sampha’s tracks radiate the grief and anguish of a man trying to cope with the loss of a parent.
“You’ve been with me since the cradle,” Sampha recalls of his late mother in the track ‘Kora Sings’. Every track has a story to tell, from the stunning ballad (‘No One Knows Me) Like this Piano’, which tells the story of how his mother’s piano acted as a pillar of support for him whilst he was growing up, to the more upbeat tracks that are still tinged with tension. ‘Take me inside’ reflects upon his past relationships and break ups: “These days I’m not sure how to feel.”
‘Plastic 100°C’ is among Sampha’s finest work. He describes the “magnetic strip” he is living under making it “so hot I am melting out here.” The album is worth listening to just for the impressive lead track ‘Blood on Me’ which is set to shake up 2017’s music scene. Most of the tracks are quite sparse; simple but majestic.
Sampha’s high pitched, powerful and haunting voice reverberates throughout each track, spontaneously cracking, showing how he has incorporated his own personal trauma into each song. His voice sounds injured and evokes feelings of nostalgia as we can all relate to his lyrics about death and grief. Listeners can really relate to most of his tracks in a way that is almost profound. It seems that Sampha felt a sense of personal duty towards making this album, rather than using it as a platform to make himself a star.
Process is equal to or maybe even better than the tracks he put together with collaborators Kanye and Frank Ocean. Sampha embraces R&B and Soul in this album, alongside the expression of his emotions, in an imaginative and beautiful way. This feels like Sampha’s own personal way of reflecting over his past regrets and woes and the whole album is pulled together by the overwhelming heartbreak each track emits. Sampha has shown that he is human by baring his soul to his audience.
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