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

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

South London South London is the southern part of Greater 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, Lon ...

. Sampha has collaborated with

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, SBTRKT, Jessie Ware,

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

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, Travis Scott,

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, Solange 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 s ...

'', was released on 3 February 2017 by Young and won the 2017

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. His second album, '' Lahai'', was released on 20 October 2023.

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 Morden and listening to records given to him by his older siblings. As a teenager he discovered music production after his older brother, Sanie, built himself a makeshift home studio. He went to Ewell Castle School, studying A-Level Music: in 2017 he returned to open a new music studio building.

Career

In 2007, Sampha met London producer Kwes, whose music Sampha said changed his life, through

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. Kwes guided him and introduced him to musicians, Mica "Micachu" Levi, Ghostpoet, Dels as well as his future record label Young (known then as Young Turks). In 2009 Sampha interned at the label. Also through Young, Sampha remixed " Basic Space" 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), ...

and meet his earliest collaborators: SBTRKT, Jessie Ware, Bullion and Lil Silva. Sampha is also the cousin of grime artist Flirta D from the grime music group SLK. In 2017, Sampha released his first album, ''

'', to critical acclaim. The album won Sampha the Mercury Prize for best album of the year. He released his second album '' Lahai'' in 2023, also to critical acclaim.

Personal life

Sampha's first child, a daughter, was born in the spring of 2020.

Discography

* ''

'' (2017) * '' Lahai'' (2023)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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