Samara Cyn
American musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samara Henderson,[2] known professionally as Samara Cyn (/sɪn/), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2024, she released her debut EP, The Drive Home.[3]
September 15, 1998[1]
- Rapper
- singer
- songwriter
Samara Cyn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samara Henderson September 15, 1998[1] Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Education | Arizona State University (BSc) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Label | Vanta |
Early life and education
Samara Henderson was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[4] Growing up, she also lived in Augusta, Georgia, El Paso, Texas, Hawaii and Colorado.[5] Her mother was an English teacher[6] and her father was in the army, which caused the family to relocate frequently.[4] She began writing poetry in fifth grade when she was bored,[7] encouraged by her mother, who introduced her to Brave New Voices.[6] She credits her father with sparking her interest in hip hop, in particular by introducing her to Slick Rick's debut album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.[8] Her interest in poetry developed while attending Arizona State University,[6][9] where she performed at Poetic Soul, a weekly open mic.[7] After a night out in her second year of college, while her friends were rapping, she rapped one of her poems to a beat, and her interest in poetry became an interest in creating music.[6] She graduated in May 2021 with a Bachelor’s in Supply Chain Management.[10]
Career
Before The Drive Home
After writing her first song in 2019, Cyn performed her first live show in November of that same year.[6] In November 2021, she opened for Teddy Swims in Arizona.[6] In 2024, she opened for Isaiah Rashad on his Cilvia Demo 10 Year Anniversary Tour.[11]
The Drive Home
After releasing her debut EP The Drive Home in 2024,[3] she was co-signed by Erykah Badu[9] and Lauryn Hill.[4] In November 2024, she opened for Nas on his Illmatic 30-year anniversary tour in London.[12] In March 2025, Cyn performed with Hill at the Jazz in the Gardens Festival in Miami.[13] At the 2025 South by Southwest festival, Cyn won the Grulke Prize for Developing U.S. Act.[14]
Kountry Kousins tour and Backroads
Starting on April 23, 2025 in Vancouver, Cyn supported Smino on his Kountry Kousins tour through North America.[15][16] Her second EP, Backroads, was released on June 20, 2025.[17] It was ranked as the 6th best EP of 2025 by Spin,[18] a top 10 EP of 2025 by Hypebeast,[19] and the 14th best rap album of 2025 by Billboard.[20] It contains five songs, including the single "Brand New Teeth" featuring Smino.[21][22] The same month, she was selected for the 2025 XXL freshman class.[23] On July 23, 2025, Cyn made her late-night television debut on The Daily Show, performing her song "Hardheaded".[24] Cyn was named the BET Amplified Artist of the Month for August 2025.[25] In October 2025, she released the single "Vitamins N Minerals", produced by Ovrkast.[26] Complex rated the song's second verse as the 24th-best rap verse of 2025.[27] She performed at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in November 2025.[28] On December 12, 2025, she released the single "What Will They Say".[29]
Detour
On March 13 2026, Samara Cyn announced her EP Detour would be released the following week on March 20.[30][31]
Discography
Extended plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Drive Home |
|
| Backroads |
|
Singles
- "Backseat" (2022)
- "Pride's Interlude" (2023)
- "Auto-Pilot" (2023)
- "Wake Up" (2023)
- "Moving Day" (2024)
- "Magnolia Rain" (2024)
- "Katana" (2024)
- "Chrome" (2024)
- "Sinner" (2024)
- "Pop n Olive" (2025)
- "Bad Brain" (2025)
- "Brand New Teeth" (2025) (with Smino)
- "Vitamins n Minerals" (2025) (prod Ovrkast)[33]
- "what will they say" (2025) [34]
- “oooshxt!” (2026)[30]
Guest appearances
- "Janky Moral Compass" (2025) (Ray Vaughn featuring Samara Cyn and Sydney Leona)
- "Ghost" (2025) (Armani White featuring Samara Cyn)[35]