2025 XXL Freshman Samara Cyn made her late-night television debut on Wednesday (July 23) with a dreamy performance of “Hardheaded” from her new EP Backroads on The Daily Show. Guest host Josh Jackson told the Tennessee native that she was his first pick for musical guest when he found out he would be guest-hosting this week, and she gushed that she was also a fan of his, sending TikToks of his standup to her mom.
During the interview, Cyn admitted she didn’t dream of making music as a child, but “stumbled into” it and fell in love with the process of therapizing through music. She also contrasted Backroads with her debut album The Drive Home, saying that she wanted it to be more “lighthearted” compared to the “warm, serious” tones on that first project. Together, the rapper and comedian address the “hypernormalization” of the current political climate, with Samara opining, “I feel like we’re losing sight of all of that… all of the work that we’ve done of being a country first is being undone by the snap of very grubby fingers.”
Then, her performance expands from the stage, with a string trio embellishing her introspective raps. You can watch her performance above.