Samurai Jay

Gennaro Amatore (born 1 October 1998), known professionally as Samurai Jay, is an Italian rapper and singer-songwriter.

Life and career Born in 1998 in Mugnano di Napoli, Naples, he was introduced to rap thanks to artists like Co'Sang, Linkin Park, and Jay-Z. He began to gain recognition in the urban scene with his first EP, Promesse, released in 2018.

After releasing the singles Sorry Mama, Audemars featuring MV Killa and Yung Snapp, and "Fai il serio", on 31 May 2019, he took part in the remix of Livio Cori's song "A casa mia". It will be performed worldwide at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples during the XXX Universiade. The single was the artist's first to enter the FIMI singles chart, and was also certified gold.

On 6 September 2019 he participated with Jake La Furia in the song High by Junior Cally, while on 4 November it was the turn of the single "Panico" by Peppe Soks and Dani.

In 2020, he collaborated with several artists, including Elettra Lamborghini and MamboLosco on the remix of "Te quemas" and the Dark Polo Gang on "No Stupid". He also released the singles "Vamos pa la banca" with Lele Blade, Geolier, and Dat Boi Dee, "Cringe" with Beba, "Tasche piene" with Shiva, "Kriminal" by Shablo with Gué Pequeno and Gemitaiz and "Il passo" with MamboLosco and Nardi. He also collaborated with Gigi D'Alessio on the single "Buongiorno" and the remix of "Fotomodelle un po' povere".

His first studio album, Lacrime, was released on 23 October 2020, which includes collaborations with Gué Pequeno, Rkomi, Geolier and Boro. In the same year he participated in Lavazza's "Nuove strade" project, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Qualità Rossa blend, releasing the single of the same name on 23 September with Ernia, Rkomi, Gaia, Madame and Andry the Hitmaker.

He was a guest on the second night of the Sanremo Music Festival 2021, where he performed "Guagliune" with Gigi D'Alessio, Ivan Granatino, Enzo Dong and Lele Blade, releasing it on 26 February. The song will also be performed on 9 September of the same year during the first night of the SEAT Music Awards 2021.

On 2 April 2021 he participated with Carl Brave in the song "Cielo nero" by Random, on 7 May with Jake La Furia in "Novanta" by TY1, on 11 June with Boro in the song "Dinero" by Baby K, on the 26th of the same month in "Sirena" by Mace, Ernia and Darrn, while on 16 July it was the turn of "Superstar" by Fred De Palma.

On 3 June 2021 he participated in the single "Hermano" by Cancun, while on 15 July, he released the single "Bye Bye", certified gold by FIMI. This was followed by the singles "Nessuno" and "Non mi va", released the following year on May 18 and 23 June respectively. The three songs preceded the EP Respira, created with producer Dani and released on 1 July 2022. On 3 June of the same year, he participated in the seventh edition of the Nameless Festival in Annone di Brianza, in the province of Lecco.

On 24 February 2023, she released the single "Colpa mia (Gelosa)", followed by "Fammi capire" on 18 April and "Ci pensi mai?" on 20 October. On 27 July of the same year, she participated in the remix of Pepe's "Pop corn e patatine"; while on 14 June of the following year, she released the single "Alba", a collaboration with Don Pero.

On 12 June 2025 he released the single "Halo", a collaboration with Vito Salamanca. The opening verse, "It's all wrong / Everything's going backwards...", went viral on social media, earning it the title of the summer hit of 2025.

On 30 November 2025, Samurai Jay was announced among the participants of the Sanremo Music Festival 2026. He competed with the song "Ossessione".

Discography Studio albums +List of studio albums, with chart positions and certificationsTitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsITA Lacrime Released: 23 October 2020 Label: Island, Universal Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 8Amatore Released: 21 May 2026 Label: Island, Universal Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 3 FIMI: Gold "Calmo"2018 — — "Problemi" — —"Sorry Mama"2019 — —"Fai il serio" — —"Male" (featuring Boro) — —"Gang" 45 — FIMI: Gold "Tasche piene"2020 — —"Cringe" — —"Nuove strade" 51 —"Bye Bye"2021 — — FIMI: Gold Respira"Nessuno"2022 — —"Non mi va" — —"Colpa mia (Gelosa)"2023 — — "Fammi capire" — —"Pop corn e patatine RMX" — —"Ci pensi mai?" — —"Alba"2024 — —"100mila" — —"Nun m'annamor cchiù (to giur)" — —"Halo"2025 2 — FIMI: Platinum Amatore"Ossessione"2026 1 32 FIMI: 2× Platinum "Flamenco paranoia" 12 —"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released.

As featured artist

Collaborations +List of songs, with chart positions and album nameTitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum or EPITA "Habla"2019—Ricercato"Te quemas (Remix)"2020—Twerking Queen (el resto es nada)"No Stupid"14Dark Boys Club"Fotomodelle un po' povere"—Buongiorno"Cielo nero"2021—Nuvole"Novanta"—Djungle"Dinero"—Donna sulla Luna"Sirena"27 FIMI: Gold OBE"Superstar"—Unico"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released.