Samurai is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released through 1st & 15th Entertainment and Thirty Tigers on June 28, 2024, as a follow-up to his eighth studio album Drill Music in Zion (2022). The album marks his first to contain no guest features, and is his shortest studio album to date, containing eight tracks. Production was handled solely by Soundtrakk, who previously produced the entirety of Drill Music. Samurai was supported by the two singles, "Samurai" and "Cake," with a music video issued for each.
Inspired by Amy Winehouse, who is named as one of his favorite artists, Fiasco created the concept of her becoming a battle rapper. He embarked on the promotional Samurai Tour from October to December 2024. A deluxe edition of the album is scheduled to release on August 22, 2025.
Background
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Fiasco revealed of working on the project during the COVID-19 pandemic, which wasn't intended to be a Winehouse biography or to tell her story. He continued, "For me, it was literally just that one quote. I wouldn't dare try to rewrite or even postscript her legacy in any way other than just imagine everything like, 'Yo, what if she was a battle rapper?'" He searched through the folder of beats Soundtrakk had sent him, where the oldest beat, created in 2016, was used for "No. 1 Headband". He recorded a majority of the album on GarageBand, in his living room.[1]
Samurai was conceived as a standalone single, unintentionally becoming an album. Fiasco noted the ambiguity and universal themes across each track, which "could have just been about anybody," focusing on the struggles artists face within the entertainment industry. The narrative on the album is actually disjointed, showing different parts of Winehouse's life as a battle rapper or a jazz singer.[1][2] Fiasco told Flood Magazine, "The thing I started last may be the thing that comes out first. I wouldn't put too much weight into the chronology of the work."[3]
In July 2023, his manager Chilly was released from prison after 20 years, and helped with the post-production for Samurai, including sequencing and label decisions.[2]
Release and promotion
At his Coachella performance in April 2024, Fiasco announced his latest album would be coming out that summer.[4] He shared in a press release that the album's title 'Samurai' means "to serve," where he identified it as "you need to be at the service of other people, either in the overall community, or in this instance, the rap community at large that I've been a part of for years."[5]
The same day as the release of his lead single and title track, "Samurai," he announced his album will drop on June 28. He named it to be his "most personal album to date," and was inspired by a quote from the 2015 documentary film Amy, where the film's subject Amy Winehouse told her producer Salaam Remi, "I keep coming out with battle raps and they're just pouring out of me. Like Wu-Tang stuff, but really neat, very beautifully alliterated little battle raps. So next time you wanna come for me and have a battle rap-off, I'm gonna kill you. Because I'm a samurai." Fiasco wanted to sample this recording in the title track, though they were unable to get it cleared.[6][7]
The album's second single, "Cake," was released on June 7, 2024.[8] This followed by a music video for the song, "No. 1 Headband," released the same day as the album.[9] On October 31, 2024, the remix music video for "Palaces" premiered, featuring additional vocals from Wisconsin singer Troy Tyler.[citation needed]
On June 11, 2025, he announced the deluxe version of Samurai, scheduled for release on August 22, 2025.[10] On June 27, he released the two remixes for "Samurai" and "Palaces," both featuring Tyler.[10] On July 25, 2025, he released "SOS" as a single for the album's deluxe edition.[11]
Artwork
The album artwork was created by Chilly's son, Dakari Patton. It features a drawing of Fiasco as an afro-samurai.[2][12]
Jazmin Kylene, writing for Clash, stated: "Keeping us well-fed and in constant questioning, there is no doubt Lupe Fiasco is fulfilling his purpose and artistic servitude every time he obliges to step back into the dojo."[13]Sputnikmusic in similar praise called it "A well thought-out and carefully handled concept," adding it to be Fiasco's "best collection of work in nearly a decade, independent of its rhetorical aims."[15]
Pitchfork editor Paul Thompson wrote, "reunites with producer Soundtrakk for a jazzy, subdued album that weighs the challenges and indignities of sustaining a career in the arts."[14]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Wasalu Jaco. All tracks produced by Soundtrakk.
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