Cordae - From A Bird's Eye View (Album)

Cordae is one of the realest lyricists out right now & one that, even before getting into the nitty gritty of this album, I know is gonna be here for the long run, he has the skills & simply just carries himself like the great he’s fully aware he is & has always been. Opening up this magnum opus of his with a beautiful freestyle from his childhood friend Shiloh Young aka Simba, which off rip is such a beautiful, brotherly thing of him to have his dear friend open up his most highly anticipated release to date. On the following track, “Jean-Michel”, Cordae paints a Basquiat-esque vivid picture of not only his experiences maneuvering this game but as well as this game of life & off rip, is another example that further emphasizes how serious a lyricist he really is, it all comes so naturally for him as you can clearly tell by the sense of comfortability in the tonality of his delivery & you can just hear that hunger for not only these beats but for the knowledge he continues to pick up on as he ventures further down his journey 

Of course, even on his most simplistic shit, he’s still saying so much with so little, proving that, he doesn’t always have to rhyme “Super” complex for you to immediately recognize how skilled he truly is. On “Momma’s Hood”, he begins reflecting on everything that lead him up to this point of success, from dropping out of college to now being able to pay off those student loans due to the fruits of his labors from losing a dear friend of his to senseless violence, even further elaborating on who exactly this friend was & how much he, as well as his other partners looked up to him, it’s a beautifully tragic tribute to what once was & more importantly, a vow to continue honoring those who helped him along his journey. 

“Want From Me” is one of those records I’m sure a lot of us men can relate to, being that we tend to place our worth in how much we can do for others & unfortunately, sometimes it really is never enough but as a man, he’s still willing to try & knows that, although men & women will always differ & probably never fully see eye to eye, we still have to find a way to coexist. Then we head into “Today” with Gunna which is fittingly titled being that it shows Cordae in his more modernist bag, proving that he’s not boxed into one style & is skilled enough an artist to dominate alongside different artists & doesn’t sound forced at all. We then get another hint of just how much Shiloh means to Cordae with another skit that simply indicates that a phone call was had between the two gentleman that is clearly only meant to stay between them but we can only surmise that it was a very powerful & meaningful conversation to Cordae.

I always gotta admire how much meaning Cordae puts into his music, paying homage to the 2005 film “Coach Carter”, Cordae gives us another fine example of how effortlessly he can amalgamate his braggadocio with lessons for all to heed, especially future generations that are obviously looking up to him, seeing him as more than just an artist they love but for the leader he is. He’s forever a student of this game on “Sinister” as he holds his own alongside a legend like Lil Wayne, even shouting out Tech N9ne, which I always appreciate being how under appreciated he is. We get that vulnerability on the R&B laced “Chronicles” where he, H.E.R. & Durk express sincerity towards their individual partners but then right after, it’s back to that elegant, fly luxurious talk alongside Freddie Gibbs, as well as contributions from Stevie Wonder!

On the albums outro, Cordae brings it all the way back home on a beautiful tribute to the school that made him the man he is today, “Westlake High” & is blessed to still be alive & well & God bless his Granny, who he beautifully pays tribute to in the latter half of this record. It’s a beautiful way to wrap his magnum opus but wait, we are not done yet. Of course Cordae had to hit us with another collab with one of his idols, the man who’s song he remixed, which was responsible for that first spark of popularity for the lyricist. The “Killer” remix was cool but he really keeps up with Em on this remix & it’s great that he, being from the newer generation, pays respect to that man cause people love to pretend like he’s never done shit for the game but he’s technically passing that torch over to Cordae with his scathing verse & it’s beautiful to see Cordae get that stamp from his idol that he so deserves, someone who too sees the game “From A Bird’s Eye View”.