Lamin

Lamin Nørlem Samba (born 16May 1995), known mononymously as Lamin, is a Danish rapper and songwriter.

Intending to pursue a career in football, injuries sent Lamin into teaching and later he turned to music. He has released four solo studio albums and two extended plays, with two of the studio albums reaching number one on the Danish top40 charts. His 2024 album, , won Danish Album of the Year at the Danish Music Awards. He has been nominated and won multiple solo awards, including New Danish Name of the Year in 2022 and the P3 Prize at DR's 's awards in 2024.

Early life Lamin Nørlem Samba was born on 16May 1995 in Nørrebro, Denmark. His parents moved from Nørrebro to the Tingbjerg neighborhood of Brønshøj-Husum before his second birthday, where he and his brother were raised by their mother. His mother is Danish from Mors, and his father, of Gambian-origin, returned to the Gambia when he was five years old. His father was absent for much of his life, except for phone calls, until his father's death when Lamin was 15years old. Though he appeared on the bench in Danish 1st Division games, he did not make an appearance for the first team before departing during the winter of 2015, moving to Danish 2nd Division club BK Avarta. He also spent time at Boldklubben af 1893, appearing in a first round match of the 2015–16 Danish Cup, where the team defeated Sundby BK 4–1. After picking up a long-term injury, which left him unable to play, he left the club in February2016.

Lamin later dropped football completely following recurring shoulder injuries, At the time of releasing his first songs, he stated that he was unsure if he still wanted to pursue music and become a "public person." A year later, in October2020, he released his debut EP, Tour. The release was accompanied by a music video alongside Icekiid with the song "Daggerin'". His debut EP received praise as he was named as one of the top 15 Danish rappers to "watch out for in the future" by Soundvenue. The EP went on to peak at number 21 on the Danish top40 charts, and achieved gold certification from IFPI Danmark.

was released on 25June 2021, nine days after Lamin turned in his bachelor thesis to complete his bachelor's degree. As of November 2025, the album has spent 102weeks on the top 40 charts in Denmark, and has achieved triple-platinum status.

Lamin would find continued success with his first collaborative album with fellow Danish rapper Artigeardit when the duo released on 15October 2021. The album, produced by Anton Westerlin, was preceded the release of a single from the album, "." A behind-the-scenes documentary was also released on YouTube, showcasing how the record was made and produced while the duo was in Greece. The EP's release marked the second record for both artists, as Artigeardit had released his own studio album months prior in May, The album was seen as "fun", but lacked the "disciplined and streamlined" process that Artigeardit's studio albums typically followed according to one review. The year also opened up other opportunities for live performances to Lamin, where he performed at Spot in May. He also played in the days preceding the opening of Roskilde Festival in June. The performance received praise, citing appearances from other musicians including Artigeardit.

Lamin's sophomore album, , was released on 2September and became his first number one album when it appeared on the Hitlisten charts on 14September. The album contained the songs "" and "", both of which went on to receive double-platinum certifications and appear inside of the top 10 on the Danish charts. The album since has gone on to become Lamin's only quintuple-platinum album, and finished 2022 as the sixth most-streamed album of the year in Denmark on Spotify.

In late September2022, Lamin received the first major award nomination as he was named as a finalist for DR's awards. He was named as the winner of the award and the accompanying prize. The song, a remake of the 2006 song "" from Johnson, peaked at number 18. Meanwhile he continued to work closely with Artigeardit, performing as a duo at in Odense in lateJune 2023.

After performing the song live at Tinderbox, The duo gave an impromptu free concert in the days before release in Kødbyen, the meatpacking district of Vesterbro. received comparisons to Watch the Throne, a collaborative album from American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, and was met with a generally positive response. The album consisted of 13 tracks, of which nine would make appearances inside the Hitlisten charts. Three tracks from the album went on to achieve certification, including "" achieving double-platinum.

Lamin was again nominated for several awards at the 2023 Danish Music Awards, including Danish Soloist of the Year and Danish Group of the Year, the latter being alongside Artigeardit. Unlike the previous year's show, Lamin left without winning in either category. Produced by Anton Westerlin, the EP was noted as a departure from his previous albums, venturing into the afrobeat music that was a trend in Danish music at the time. Soundvenue gave the album five of six stars, complimenting the different sound while maintaining strong lyrics. The show was Lamin's only festival appearance of the summer, a change from previous years. His performance received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, with B.T. calling the show "perfect."

After releasing hints on his Instagram in early September, Lamin released his fourth studio album on 19 September 2024. The album was a return to previous hip-hop sounds; it was noted for several tracks which discussed his early life, from his father leaving him without a male role model to praising his mother for being a single parent. Just as his previous studio album, sent a total of eight songs to the Hitlisten charts, The album also reached number nine on Spotify's top 10 global albums for the weekend of September20–22, 2024.

As with previous years, Lamin was again the a recipient of numerous award nominations from the Danish Music Awards and DR's P3 . His feature on Annika's song "" earned a nomination for P3's Listener Hit, a song which also became a numberone hit in Denmark.

Wavy In his first release of 2026, Lamin's song "" reached numberfour on the Hitlisten charts. On 18June, he announced via Instagram that he would hold a concert later that night at in Copenhagen for just 500people. That night, he released a surprise album with only 30minutes notice on his Instagram. His fourth solo studio album, Wavy, released at midnight.

Discography

Solo studio albums (2021) (2022) SkyLL (2024) Wavy (2026)

Collaborative albums (2023)

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result 2022 Danish Music Awards New Danish Name of the Year Lamin Danish Songwriter of the Year Artigeardit and Lamin New Danish Live Name of the Year Lamin P3 Talent Lamin 2023 Danish Music Awards Danish Group of the Year Artigeardit and Lamin Danish Soloist of the Year Lamin 2024 Danish Music Awards Danish Album of the Year Danish Soloist of the Year Lamin Danish Songwriter of the Year Lamin Musician of the Year Lamin P3 Guld P3 Prize Lamin 2025 GAFFA Awards Danish Hip-hop Release of the Year P3 Guld P3 Listener Hit ""