Samara Cyn’s Thoughts Race Off The Page On The Introspective ‘Bad Brains’

Samara Cyn has been rapidly rising since the release of her 2024 EP, The Drive Home. The 10-track project put the 26-year-old Murfreesboro, Tennessee native on plenty of radars, and her joining Smino on his ongoing Kountry Kousins Tour is putting her on even more.

That makes the timing of her latest release, the introspective single “Bad Brains,” perfect as more eyes and ears than ever are on the lookout for Samara Cyn. Over a slowed-down sample of Thee Sacred Souls’ viral hit “Can I Can You Rose?” Samara contemplates her current situation through a stream of consciousness that includes slick punchlines, devastating realizations, and references to viral memes (“I’m a bad b*tch — you can’t kill me!”).

Samara Cyn’s 2025 breakout even included a crossover with one of the year’s other major rap breakouts, Doechii. At the same Jazz Fest concert where Lauryn Hill bestowed Doechii with her co-sign and a duet performance, Hill also knighted Samara Cyn, sealing her as one of the most exciting artists coming up today. Stay tuned.

Listen to Samara Cyn’s “Bad Brains” above and see the remaining tour dates for Kountry Kousins below.

5/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
5/02 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas
5/05 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
5/07 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
5/09 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
5/10 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
5/11 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
5/14 – New Orleans, LA @ The Joy Theater
5/16 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
5/17 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
5/18 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
5/20 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
5/22 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
5/24 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
5/28 – Washington, DC @ Echostage
5/31 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
6/03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
6/05 – Hartford, CT @ The Webster Theater
6/07 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
6/10 – Toronto, CA @ REBEL
6/13 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
6/14 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple
6/15 – Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion
6/17 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre and Ballroom
6/19 – Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle
6/21 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
6/22 – Maryland Heights, MO @ Saint Louis Music Park