\ Rose B. Simpson

Sampha releases his highly-anticipated, sophomore album LAHAI on Young. Taken from his paternal grandfather’s name, which is also Sampha’s middle name, LAHAI revels in the awe and magic of our existence, synthesizing the exquisite chaos that one experiences confronting the cycle of life and the beyondness. Spanning 14-tracks, with contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, peers and collaborators including: Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice Grey (Kokoroko), Ibeyi, Morgan Simpson (Black Midi), Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves and Kwake Bass, LAHAI, in contrast to Process, is a communal affair seeing Sampha explore the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves. On the album’s latest single “Only,” we meet a newly energized Sampha, as he spits melodically over a fragmented hip-hop hued beat with co-production from El Guincho.

Released on the Island Records subsidiary Mango in July 1980, Sinsemilla, named after a type of marijuana, was Black Uhuru's first album to be issued internationally, their third overall. Although the group was nominally a trio at this point – consisting of Derrick "Duckie" Simpson, Michael Rose, and Sandra "Puma" Jones – in effect, Sinsemilla was a solo album by Rose, who wrote all the songs and sang lead vocals.