Watch Sampha Put His Own Spin on Steve Lacy's "Bad Habit"

Put Sampha behind a piano and he can transform any array of words into an ethereal melody. Hot off the release of his sophomore album Lahai, the soulful musician hit BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge to deliver a rendition of Steve Lacy‘s “Bad Habit”, as well as Lahai cut “Only.”

Sampha makes Lacy’s Gemini Rights cut his own, delivering a passionate yet stripped-back version of the upbeat song from behind the piano – aided only by a sparse drum beat. Watch Sampha work his magic on “Bad Habit” in the gallery above.

The UK singer-songwriter also graced fans with a performance of “Only,” lifted from his deeply personal six-years-in-the-making album, Lahai, named after Sampha’s grandfather, whom he also shares a middle name with. “I was just thinking a lot about my lineage and connections and things I’ve lost and people I’ve lost,” Sampha explained of the importance of the album’s title. “I felt like that name was a great bridge that connects me to my ancestry, while also looking forward to myself.”

Hypebeast recently sat down with Sampha to learn more about his creative process behind Lahai. Elsewhere in the music world, Jay Electronica is teasing his first album since 2020.