The Lost Boy: YBN Cordae Found His Man
Stemming from his Maryland days as Entendre, YBN Cordae has had one inspirational come back into hip hop superstardom. From dropping dope covers and remixes on Worldstar, to taking pictures and videos with multiple hip hop staples such as J. Cole and Dr. Dre, amazing performances on tours and award shows, and teasing us with his mainstream debut; The Lost Boy is here and it quite arguably, is the greatest mainstream hip hop debut since Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. From the first listen, you get drawn in by an inexpiable feeling of hip hop bliss. It’s the same feeling I have listening to classic albums such as Late Registration, Illmatic, Forest Hills Drive, and Reasonable Doubt.
Album Breakdown
Cordae’s 15 track 45-minute project is a staple of not only hip hop greatness but evolution. Not only did he add another potentially classic album to the genre but also a potentially groundbreaking one. Vivid wordplay, heartfelt storytelling, astounding production, creative skits, and quality features make The Lost Boy a daily fixture in anybody’s playlist. Tracks such as “Wintertime”, “Bad Idea” ft. Chance The Rapper, “Thanksgiving”, “Thousand Words”, “Been Around”, “Family Matters” ft. Arin Ray, “We Gone Make It” ft. Meek Mill, and “Lost & Found” showcase Cordae’s appreciation for the classic tropes of hip hop greatness. He adds a millennial twist to it to make it appealing to anybody of any age group.
“RNP” ft Anderson .Paak is also a tribute to the duo rap made popular in the late 80s and 90s by groups such as NWA and EMPD. It’s personally one of my favorite songs this year as Cordae and .Paak play off each other just as good as Lebron and Wade did when they were playing together in Miami. “Nightmares Are For Real” ft. Pusha T is pure lyrical hip hop exercise between an upcoming superstar and grizzled veteran from Virginia. “Have Mercy” and “Broke As F**k” have Cordae rapping amazing bars over trap productions drums and it’s amazing. “Way Back Home” ft. Ty Dolla $ign aka hip hop’s condiment is a song catered towards relationship and it’s very enjoyable to listen to.
Final Verdict
Overall, The Lost Boy is very well put together and embodies everything wonderful about Hip Hop. It’s not only excellent but groundbreaking. It’s one of the first albums in a minute that draws in listeners from every crowd of the earth. From Colin Kaepernick, Kevin Durant, Miguel, Ella Mai, yes, even the legend Quincy Jones (who assisted in production), and more praised this album. Universal praise for an album created by YBN Cordae and his team deserves universal praise. Therefore, while I usually don’t give perfect scores, especially since it came out recently, I shall give it one below:
10/10 For The Lost Boy
- I listened to this 21 times fully in less than a week, enough said.
- Vivid and engaging wordplay which makes us feel his emotions.
- Creative ways to add in skits
- Quality production and features
- Classic album appeal
