Nearly two-and-a-half years after his breakout debut The Lost Boy, Cordae has returned with a heavier chip on his shoulder.
On Jan. 14, the Maryland lyrical prodigy released his sophomore studio album From A Bird’s Eye View to the acclaim of casual fans and hip-hop heads alike. While the success of Cordae’s projects aren’t measured by how much they sell, FABEV is currently on track to garner 21,000 first-week units.
The Lost Boy sold 26,000 units as it was Cordae’s robust introduction as a solo artist outside of former collective YBN. With these early projections, FABEV seems to be trending in the opposite direction Cordae hoped for. Nevertheless, The Lost Boy was eventually nominated for a Grammy — asserting Cordae’s place as one of hip-hop’s next great lyricists.
FABEV not only bolsters his presence in the game, but defines our generation’s impact in prioritizing quality records over sales projections. While FABEV is reported to land in between No. 15-18 on the Billboard 200 in its first week, it won’t define the 24-year-old rapper’s status as he continues building his brand.
Along with FABEV’s immersive, self-penned narrative, Cordae also dropped off the visual to “Chronicles” featuring HER and Lil Durk Wednesday. Injecting his homegrown nature throughout the video — taking a job as a busboy in a restaurant — themes of finding your path amid preconceptions of what your life should be are present throughout the track.
After dropping a four-song EP Just Until… in 2021, a handful of singles with stellar collaborations, a mini-documentary series on YouTube, a fiery freestyle over Kodak Black‘s beat from “Super Gremlin,” a freestyle video inspired by Kendrick Lamar and announcing a United States tour all within a month, Cordae has his eyes on the prize regardless of how much his sophomore effort sells.
Recruiting industry giants Lil Wayne, Gunna, Nas, Freddie Gibbs, Lil Durk, Eminem, Stevie Wonder, Roddy Ricch and others, he also enlisted the help of marquee producers in Boi-1da, Hit-Boy, Taraji P. Henson, MixedByAli, Terrace Martin and more.
Cordae left a message for his fans before he released the album — wanting them to listen in order from start-to-finish, uninterrupted. As From A Bird’s Eye View continues to cultivate responses, let us know what you think of the album in our comments.
Spin Cordae’s new album ‘From A Bird’s Eye View’ below!
Cordae drops Kendrick Lamar inspired ‘FABEV Freestyle’
Before Cordae dropped his sophomore album From A Bird’s Eye View, he offered a scintillating freestyle to let hip-hop know what kind of energy he’s bringing onto the project.
On Jan. 6, Cordae released the video for his “FABEV Freestyle (The Heart Pt 4),” which takes inspiration from Kendrick Lamar — who dropped the world-shattering “The Heart Pt 4” in March 2017, a week before his most recent album DAMN. In similar fashion to Kung-Fu Kenny, Cordae attacks this soulful instrumental, produced partly by The Alchemist, with ruthless aggression.
As he takes aim at bloggers, chart-watchers, adjacent adversaries and many more with repeated blows, Cordae is seen living his best life in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Halfway through the freestyle, the video cuts to a black screen that reads “Something’s Coming,” and the beat flawlessly switches to a more upbeat, haunting instrumental. Cordae continues his menacing flow, donning his Hi Level label merch, as we are now fully immersed into his new autonomous era.
Check out “FABEV Freestyle (The Heart Pt 4)” by Cordae below!
Everything we know about Cordae’s second LP ‘From A Bird’s Eye View’
Cordae season is now in full swing as the 24-year-old Maryland rapper has been gearing up for his sophomore album From A Bird’s Eye View for quite some time. Letting fans digest his debut album The Lost Boy for two and a half years now, his new era is slated to kick off next week on Jan. 14
On Dec. 8, 2021, Cordae triumphantly announced From A Bird’s Eye View in the form of a video skit, where he mimics Steve Jobs’ iconic iPhone reveals to emphasize how momentous his project will be.
In conjunction with his new album, the DMV superstar also announced the dates for his upcoming FABEV tour on Dec. 13. The tour begins on Feb. 3 in Dallas, TX and ends on March 19 in Sacramento, CA and will hit more than 20 U.S. states and two Canadian cities. This will be Cordae’s first tour since “The Lost Boy In America Tour,” which ended a month before America was struck hard by COVID-19 in early 2020.
Since The Lost Boy’s release, Cordae has shared four solo singles and a four-song EP, collaborating with Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Roddy Ricch and more in his hiatus. Three of these singles were in promotion of From A Bird’s Eye View, dating back to “Gifted” with Roddy Ricch in August 2020. “Gifted” and two others will be included on the upcoming album.
“Super” dropped in early October, as Cordae updated his fans on his business dealings and celebrities he has rubbed elbows with. Next came the star-studded “Sinister,” released on Dec. 3, which featured short, lyrically explosive verse from Lil Wayne and equally impressive instrumental from Hit-Boy.
Cordae’s The Lost Boy showcased his potent storytelling ability, matched with several high-powered collaborations with Anderson. Paak, Pusha T, Meek Mill and others who elevated the project even more. As he already has Roddy and Wayne on From A Bird’s Eye View, it will be interesting to see the direction he takes the album, and who else will assist in its execution.
Cordae also helped to catch fans up on his life by launching a new docu-series on YouTube, where the first episode details his trips to New York and Africa to prepare his mind for the album’s creation.
Watch Cordae’s documentary below!
