YBN Cordae's “The Lost Boy” is one of the more impressive albums in 2019 to date
DMV rapper, YBN Cordae looks to launch himself into the best new rapper conversation with the release of his debut album “The Lost Boy.” YBN Cordae may not be a household name as of yet, however, his ability to put lyrics together with complex rhyme schemes, and flows thus far into his career certainly shows his potential. For a taste of Cordae’s lyricism, I would point you to the start of his second verse of his first single for the rollout to this album titled “Have Mercy,” where he spits, “why cry over spilled milk if you still feel I’m the real deal, my bitch bad with no ill will cause she’ll murk a nigga like Kill Bill.” The rhyme scheme and references within just these two lines should be enough to get you excited for YBN Cordae. Along with “Have Mercy,” YBN Cordae released a song with Chance the Rapper titled “Bad Idea” as well as a song with Anderson .Paak titled “RNP.” All three songs will appear on the album, along with twelve other tracks to create the fifteen track album that is “The Lost Boy.” Throughout the 45 minute duration of this album, Chance the Rapper, Anderson .Paak, Ty Dolla $ign, Pusha T, Arin Ray and Meek Mill will all appear as features. As you can tell my expectations for “The Lost Boy” are high, so without further ado, let’s get to the review!
Categories
The songs on this album divided into three lanes that are prevalent throughout the project and scored on a 1.5 scale. (0 = trash, .5 = not for me, 1 = good, 1.5 = a standout)
Cordae the Lyricist
Cordae shows his ability to put lyrics together while using an infectious flow
• “Wintertime” (1)
• “Have Mercy” (1.5)
• “RNP” ft. Anderson .Paak (1)
• “Broke As Fuck” (1.5)
• “Nightmares Are Real” ft. Pusha T (1)
• “Family Matters” ft. Arin Ray (1)
• “We Gon Make It” ft. Meek Mill (1.5)
Cordae the Versatile
Cordae shows more than just his ability to spit bars, at times changing his cadence at points
• “Bad Idea” ft. Chance the Rapper (1)
• “Thanksgiving” (1)
• “Thousand Words” (1)
• “Way Back Home” ft. Ty Dolla $ign (1.5)
• “Been Around” (1)
Skits
• “Sweet Lawd”
• “Grandma’s House”
Must Listen Songs
The concept of Must Listen songs are the songs that would give the best overview of the album as a whole. Songs that stand out for reasons to be described in the pending descriptions of the songs.
“Broke As Fuck”
Track seven on YBN Cordae’s debut “The Lost Boy” has the darkest beat on the whole album for the first half of this song. The dark piano mixed with the high hats and hard bass set the dark vibe for this song on this beat produced by Take A Daytrip in collaboration with Smoko Ono, Russ, Kid Culture, and Coop the Truth. The second half of this beat mellows out with a higher-pitched piano, a triangle, and softer bass, with the high hats, turned down. The flow Cordae puts on display on both beats shows his mastery as well as his range from beat to beat.
“Way Back Home” ft. Ty Dolla $ign
Cordae enlists the musical talents of Ty Dolla $ign for the ninth track on “The Lost Boy.” The beat produced by Kid Culture and G Koop is a simple beat with a string instrument, a soft bass and faint high hats in the background. The story of this song is the cadences put on display by Cordae throughout his first verse showing he is more than just a bar spitter. Ty Dolla $ign characteristically slays his feature on this song, starting with a fast flow and ending with his slowed down stretching of syllables.
“We Gon Make It” ft. Meek Mill
Cordae and Meek Mill team up for the penultimate track on YBN Cordae’s debut, “The Lost Boy.” Produced by Kid Culture and Bongo, is a simple slow beat with a simple bass and kick with a soft guitar. Cordae, of course, slays his verses, however, the story of this song is Meek Mill’s use of autotune which is used just enough for it to come off perfect. This pairing is one I hope to see more of in the future.
Final Review
If I had to describe YBN Cordae’s debut album “The Lost Boy” in a word, the word I would choose is excellent. YBN Cordae shows off his rapping ability along with giving listeners a taste of his singing ability on some songs throughout the album. While keeping a consistent chill vibe throughout the album, YBN Cordae uses his lyrical talents to put together content that is relatable to the listener for example, “Thousand Words” was about the downsides to using social media and “Thanksgiving” was about the experience of bringing a significant other to meet the family. The use of skits helped bring together the album, especially the use of the first skit “Sweet Lawd” where Cordae essentially sings the hook he raps on “Have Mercy” which is the song before the skit. The features on this album compliment Cordae well, with the three standouts being Chance the Rapper, Anderson .Paak and Meek Mill. Front to back this album has no skips, and I recommend that the listener receive every song. “The Lost Boy” lives up to high expectations for a debut from YBN Cordae making it one of the more impressive albums in 2019 to date.
Scoring
Raw Score: The number of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a 1 or above to be counted.
Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.
Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.
Raw Score: 13/13
Quality Score: 16/13
Playback Value: 5/5
MUST LISTEN IN FULL!
Go out and listen to YBN Cordae’s “The Lost Boy” wherever you listen to your music. Also, don’t forget to check out OLDMLK’s Instagram page (@OLDMLK) and Twitter (@OLDMLKDOTCOM) for updates on OLDMLK.COM: The Most Essential Hip Hop Blog, The OLDMLK.Com Playlist, The OLDMLK Radar and more! Don’t Know it? Oldmlk Does!
