Aquakultre is the artistic voice of Lance Sampson — an uncommonly versatile singer, rapper, composer and storyteller from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Aquakultre came to national prominence in 2018 after winning CBC’s Searchlight songwriting competition with the second song he ever wrote. He has gone on to release multiple singles, EPs, collabs and two full albums, 2020’s Legacy and 2022’s Don’t Trip, both of which were long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize along with numerous East Coast Music Awards and other nominations and wins. Aquakultre’s self-directed video for Pay It Forward won the Audience Favorite at the 2021 Prism Prize Awards.

Coming up in Halifax’s Uniacke Square, Aquakultre traces his roots to historic Africville, East Preston, Weymouth Falls, Liverpool & Delaps Cove; back two hundred years to the arrival of the Black Loyalists from the American colonies. Driven by his passion for history and culture, Lance is currently developing The Aquakultre Project, a theatrical production in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed 2b Theatre Company. He is creator, host, and director of the TV documentary series GeneratioNS: Black Memories; the first season is on air now; a second season is in production. In October 2024, Lance presented his first major audio-visual installation titled Matriarchs as an Anchor Artist at Nocturne, Halifax’s annual art-at-night event. All the while, Lance has been doing deep research and collecting oral histories from African Nova Scotian communities for his next record, titled 1783 in homage to his Black Loyalist ancestry. 

Aquakultre is a deep collaborator and lover of many genres. He has performed and co-written with a long list of Canadian and international hip hop artists (Junia-T, Phoenix Pagliacci, Tafari Anthony…) as well as pop, roots, and jazz artists like Jenn Grant, Jah’Mila, and James Shaw’s Vesuvius Big Band.

Known for delivering an uplifting get-down live show, Aquakultre, backed by a killer 10-piece band, played this year’s CBC Road to the Junos series, broadcast to national audiences in March 2024.

Through all his works, via poetic lyrics and straight-up jams, Aquakultre is on a mission to share his love for his unique and beautiful corner of the diaspora. Through his community work (LOVE, iMove Arts and others), his recordings, performances, and collaborations, Aquakultre delivers a poignant reflection of his personal evolution and his place in community as a Black Nova Scotian.