The Lost Boy

by Cordae

Overview

When a trio of young rappers began gaining traction under the collaborative moniker YBN, astute listeners were quick to point out comparisons with the young rappers and star-powered rap groups who came before them. In particular, YBN Nahmir's cockiness and big personality were foiled by YBN Cordae's whip-smart lyricism in a way that mirrored the roles of Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt in Odd Future. YBN were more of a collective than they were collaborators, and Cordae's singles and mixtape contributions were marked by complexly constructed rhymes delivered with a style that nodded more and more to hip-hop's golden era as he went. On his debut studio album, The Lost Boy, Cordae emerges in bold, colorful strides, joined by some of rap's key players on an album as adventurous as it is thoughtful. His intricate flows take shape over an ever-shifting palette of instrumentals, from the slithery trap beats of "Have Mercy" and "Broke as Fuck" to the nostalgic summery beat and wistful electric piano of the Chance the Rapper-assisted "Bad Idea." The album moves between styles, landing on infectious pop with "RNP," a melody-forward tune produced by J. Cole that sees Cordae and Anderson .Paak trading verses about living the good life. Themes of family, community, and redemption find their way into the lyrics among the sex, cars, and tales of past struggles. Cordae's dexterous lyrical delivery sometimes mutates into sincerely sung verses, as on the R&B-tinged "Way Back Home." The rapper's skills aren't in question on The Lost Boy, but the album sometimes overshoots in its ambition, aiming for too many styles to hit them all with excellence. It's still a strong collection, and when Cordae strikes a perfect balance of mellow production and lyrical power on standout tracks like "We Gon Make It," it points to even more fully formed work ahead from a strong talent just getting started. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	11/22/2024
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0075678604430

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cordae   Primary Artist,Vocals
Tarron Crayton   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Chance the Rapper   Featured Artist
Anderson .Paak   Featured Artist
Arin Ray   Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
SiR   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Illuid Haller   Keyboards,Piano
Ant Clemons   Vocals
Justin Zim   Bass
PJ   Vocals
Pusha T   Featured Artist
Quincy Jones   Vocals
Ty Dolla $ign   Featured Artist
Masego   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Syd   Vocals (Background)
Raymond Komba   Piano
Amanda Bailey   Strings
Ali Prawl   Strings,Keyboards
Jehreeus Banks   Vocals (Background)
Karim Hutton   Bass
Freaky Rob   Guitar
Theppl   Vocals
Hasani   Vocals (Background)
G Koop   Guitar
Dem Jointz   Vocals (Background)
Meek Mill   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Flippa123   Producer
Terrace Martin   Composer,Producer
Nils Nohden   Composer,Producer
Joya Nemley   A&R
Rasool Diaz   Composer,Producer
Yaasiel "Success" Davis   A&R
Chancelor Bennett   Composer
Anderson .Paak   Composer
Uforo Ebong   Composer
Cardiak   Producer
Jhair Lazo   Engineer
Maneesh Bidaye   Composer,Producer
Darian Garcia   Composer
Arin Ray   Composer
Stephen Basil   Composer
Take a Daytrip   Engineer,Producer,Recording
Illuid Haller   Composer,Producer
Cordae Dunston   Composer
M1 Darton   Engineer
Curtis "Sircut" Bye   Assistant Engineer
Brendan Ferry   Engineer,Recording
Justin Zim   Composer
Cooper Douglas McGill   Composer
Kenny Gamble   Composer
Donny Hathaway   Composer
Jon Lucien   Composer
Roberta Flack   Composer
Gil Scott-Heron   Composer
Jermaine Cole   Composer
Calin Enache   Engineer,Recording
Derek "MixedByAli" Ali   Mixing
Russell Chell   Composer,Producer
Carl McCormick   Composer,Producer
Robert Mandell   Composer
Ronald Colson   Composer
Zachary Acosta   Mixing,Assistant Engineer
Denzel Baptiste   Composer
David Biral   Composer
Cyrus Taghipour   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
Charles Mann   Composer
Smoko Ono   Producer
Bongo ByTheWay   Producer
Pedro Calloni   Engineer,Recording
Aria Angel Ali   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
Daniel Hackett   Composer
Cordae   Producer,Executive Producer
Coop the Truth   Producer
Jariuce Stedman Banks   Composer
BazeXX   Producer
Karim Hutton   Composer
Janet Dunston   Composer
Slim Brandon Allen   Composer,Producer
Success Davis   A&R
Raul "Rj" Cardenas   Engineer
Homer Steinweiss   Composer
Leon Huff   Composer
Ramon Velez   Composer
Mike Robbins   Producer
Leon Michels   Composer
Thomas Brenneck   Composer
G Koop   Producer
Tyrone Griffin   Composer
Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young   Engineer
Juro "Mez" Davis   Engineer,Recording
J. Cole   Producer
David Kutch   Mastering
Grandma   Producer
Dem Jointz   Additional Production
Kid Culture   Producer,Programming
Robert Williams   Composer
David Guy   Composer
Terrence Thornton   Composer