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Writer's pictureCharles Luberisse

Album Review: Cordae - "From a Bird’s Eye View"

Written By: Mike Double G

 

Grade = 83% or 4 ️Stars

Track List - 42 minutes

  1. Shiloh’s Intro 1:09

  2. Jean-Michel 2:44

  3. Super 2:57 ️

  4. Momma’s Hood 3:33 ️

  5. Want From Me 3:51

  6. Today (Feat. Gunna) 3:02

  7. Shiloh’s Interlude 0:23

  8. C Carter 3:13 ️

  9. Sinister (Feat. Lil Wayne) 2:29

  10. Chronicles (Feat. H.E.R. & Lil Durk) 3:32 ️

  11. Champagne Glasses (Cordae & Stevie Wonder Feat. Freddie Gibbs) 4:18 ️

  12. Westlake High 2:57

  13. Parables (Remix) [Feat. Eminem] {Bonus Track} 4:46

  14. Gifted (Feat. Roddy Ricch & Ant Clemons) [Bonus Track] 2:49


It’s been two and a half years since Cordae released his debut album The Lost Boy. At that time he went by the name YBN Cordae. The only other project he released between then and now was a four song EP titled Just Until… His first LP was good enough to get a him a Grammy nomination. Cordae isn’t your typical young rapper. He has an old school feel to his music and his lyricism has got the attention of some of the best in the game. Cordae has collaborated with legends such as Eminem, Nas, and Lil Wayne. Both Eminem and Lil Wayne appear on his new album. Freddie Gibbs, Stevie Wonder, Gunna, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Ant Clemons, and H.E.R. also have features on this project. This may seem like a lot of features for a short album but his feature ratio is perfect. Not counting the intro and interlude only 6 of the remaining 12 songs have features. Super, Momma’s Hood, and C Carter are all strong records and none of them have features.


Cordae first worked with Eminem when he and Jack Harlow were featured on the remix for Eminem’s song Killer. Obviously, Cordae impressed as he was able to get the rare Eminem feature on his song Parables (Remix). This song appears on the album as a bonus track. Cordae really impressed me on this record and I think he actually outshined Eminem on the track. Even if Shady is passed his prime this is something that is hard to do. Some artists won’t even look for an Eminem feature simply because they don’t want to get murdered on there own record. I give Cordae props for holding his own.


The most interesting collaborating would be Champagne Glasses. A song that he did with Stevie Wonder and has a feature from Freddie Gibbs. This is not the first time Cordae and Gibbs have worked together as the pair teamed up with Nas on the 2021 single Life is Like a Dice Game. Stevie and Cordae locked in together after Stevie had his team reach out to Cordae’s team. They first worked on Stevie’s record Can’t Put It In The Hands Of Fate. During there week together Stevie offered to work on Cordae’s album. The harmonica you hear on "Champagne Glasses” is Stevie. This is one of his hidden talents.


My biggest beef with this project was the short length. You would expect a lot more material after such a long wait. If you count the two bonus tracks this project was only 42 minutes long. Cordae had only had 10 songs after you subtract the intro, interlude, and two bonus tracks. That is counting Westlake High which wasn’t much of a track. The song had a strong 16 bar verse in the beginning but the rest of the track was an outro. Back in January I thought we might get a deluxe to this album but it doesn’t look like it. His first album “The Lost Boy” also didn’t include a deluxe.


It is obvious that Cordae went with the quality over quantity approach when making this album. Lil Uzi’s last LP included 32 songs while Lil Keed’s had 39. To his credit there wasn’t many misses. For such a short album he was still able to show his versatility, He barred up on songs like “Parables” (remix) with Eminem and Sinister with Lil Wayne. He also had songs that sounded more current like “Super”, and “Today” featuring Gunna. We even hear him sing on Chronicles which includes features from H.E.R. and Lil Durk. This is probably going to be his most radio friendly song on this album. Many people had high expectations after “The Lost Boy” received a Grammy nomination. That is why I think this album hasn’t got the best reviews. This project may not be as good as his first LP but I think this project will grow on people and by the end of the year.


Best song = Super


#Cordae #FromABirdsEyeView #Gunna Lil Wayne H.E.R. Lil Durk Stevie Wonder ft. Freddie Gibbs Eminem oddy Ricch & Ant Clemons #The Lost Boy #Just Until… Nas, Lil Uzi Lil Keed



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