Lupe Fiasco decides to take a different route on his ninth studio album, “Samurai,” where he imagines the late Amy Winehouse as a battle rapper. The Soundtrakk-produced album, due on June 28, 2024, speaks about some of the issues that plagued Amy, as well as pays respect to her musical brilliance from the perspective of battle rap.
This is an eight-track album, each song helping to propel the loose narrative, telling life as a rapper in the battle rap circuit and likening today’s rappers to historical warriors. Lupe takes this framework to project personal and artistic struggles by mixing his experience with fiction.
Lupe takes a personal yet fantastical route to the album. He imagines what Amy Winehouse could have been as a battle rapper:
“What would it be like if she was a battle rapper? What would those raps sound like?”
It’s a record that explores this idea of Winehouse going through the grimy world of battle rap but maintaining her flair and spirit intact .
Not only is “Samurai” a nod to Winehouse, but it also gives the world another glimpse into Lupe’s lyrical skill and dedication to emceeing. With the title track already released, it is full of soulful groove and sharp poetic narrative that sets the tone for the album.
The hip-hop album proves Lupe Fiasco’s ability to combine creative storytelling with levels of personal insight so deep that “Samurai” will surely be on the lookout for everybody in the hip-hop community.
