Sampha Lahai Sisay (born 16 November 1988) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer from

Morden Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Pa ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. Sampha is widely known for his collaborative work with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

, SBTRKT,

Jessie Ware Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and broadcaster. Ware came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, ''Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, produce ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Solange Solange (died 10 May, c. 880) was a Frankish shepherdess and a locally venerated Christian saint and cephalophore, whose cult is restricted to Sainte-Solange, Cher. Saint Solange was the patron of the traditional Province of Berry, of which C ...

and others. Sampha has released two solo EPs: ''Sundanza'' (2010) and '' Dual'' (2013). Sampha's debut album, ''

Process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management *Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...

'', was released on 3 February 2017 by

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

and won the 2017

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Early years

Sampha was born in

to Sierra Leonean parents who moved to the United Kingdom in the 1980s. His introduction to music began with learning to play on the piano at his parents' home in

and absorbing as it were records given to him by his older siblings. Later he discovered music production as a young teen, after his older brother, Sanie, built himself a makeshift home studio. He also went to

Ewell Castle School Ewell Castle School is a 3–18 mixed, independent day school and sixth form in Ewell, Epsom, Surrey, England. It was founded in 1926 by Herbert Budgell as a boarding school and became fully mixed in September 2015. It consists of the Main Hous ...

for a number of years where he studied

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

Music and in 2017 returned to open a new music studio building. In 2007 through Myspace.com, Sampha met London producer,

Kwes Kwes (; sometimes stylised as ''kwes'', ''kwes.'', ''Kwes.'' or '' =o'' ) is a British music producer and artist from London, England. Kwes is also currently signed to Warp as a solo artist and released his debut album, '' ilp'' in October 2013. ...

, whose music Sampha said changed his life. Kwes guided him and made introductions to musicians, Mica "Micachu" Levi, Ghostpoet, DELS as well as his now label-home,

. In 2009 Sampha interned at the label. Also through Young, Sampha was able to remix '

Basic Space ''xx'' is the debut album by the English indie pop band the xx. It was released on 14 August 2009 by Young Turks, an imprint label of XL Recordings, and recorded from December 2008 to February 2009 at the label's in-house studio in London. ...

' by

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

and meet his earliest collaborators: SBTRKT,

, Bullion and

Lil Silva Tyrone Jermaine "TJ" Carter, better known by the stage name Lil Silva, is an English record producer, singer, songwriter and DJ, based in Bedford. He has produced and sung on his own singles and EPs (mostly released through the Good Years label) ...

. Sampha is also the cousin of

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

artist Flirta D from the grime music group SLK.

Discography

* ''

'' (2017)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1988 births Living people 21st-century Black British male singers English record producers English soul singers English people of Sierra Leonean descent Singers from London People from Morden English male singer-songwriters English electronic musicians XL Recordings artists British hip hop singers