Cordae’s latest album proves he doesn’t have an ethos or a sense of excitement that separates his music from other rappers with a working-class view.
Cordae has made a career off being a Gen Z artist influenced by the sounds of the ’90s. You expect to hear him extolling his hip-hop elders in songs like J. Cole or rapping about adolescent crushes unironically. Whereas many of his peers skew toward lyrics about drug use and subsequent torment, Cordae focuses on financial shortcomings and upward mobility. His 2019 debut The Lost Boy was ambitious, but he often sounds like a school kid who gets the best grades only because he’s the teacher’s pet.
From a Bird’s Eye View is hampered by these deficiencies. His production choices get more solid as the album goes on; he’s someone who’s studied the game extensively, and judging by the tales about his complex relationship with his father, he has a life story that can be emotionally affecting when told with gusto. But it’s easy to tune out Cordae’s music because he doesn’t have an ethos that separates his music from other rappers with a working-class worldview.
Although Cordae can be an engaging writer, on songs like “Momma’s Hood” his delivery is as dry as a teenager forced to read in class. “Jean-Michel” shows his competence as a rapper, but the song sounds like it’s reaching to be a classic ’90s rap interlude and landing at a Big Sean freestyle from L.A. Leakers. “Today” places Cordae with Atlanta rapper Gunna, and while the track isn’t embarrassing, it doesn’t extend beyond the median either. Gunna loves dropping peculiar phrases about shopping and trapping, and there isn’t any of that personality here.
Not every rapper has a sense of humor, but many of the best get by on wit. “Sinister” pits Cordae against Lil Wayne’s crassness, with nothing to show for it but lines like “Quitе nuclear/Amazing what fame could do to ya.” The standout “Chronicles” is an example of what Cordae could do if he took himself less seriously. The production hints at 2010s Jeremih, and H.E.R. turns in a great guest performance. Cordae does his best rapping on “Parables (Remix),” with the intensity of an underdog boxer. But just when you think he’s turned a corner, Eminem shows up at the end to sound like an NFT come to life.
From a Bird’s Eye View works best when Cordae taps into his more playful instincts, dissing detractors and making puns about NFL players along the way. It’s possible to be a pop rapper and be amusingly wild while still having an everyman quality. Cordae runs the risk of just fading into the background.
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