Would you turn down a song that could become huge hit early in your career? it turns out that's exactly what Cordae did. The rapper, who hails from North Carolina, is no stranger to hit records himself. His debut album, The Lost Boy, was released to critical acclaim. It even earned him two Grammy nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song. Several months after the release of his first album, he was approached about appearing on a pop song.
It's not often that artists have the luxury of turning down a potential hit, but Cordae says he turns down "95% of everything" that he's asked to record on. In fact, the rapper said that his label already knows that will go nowhere with him. That was not originally the case, however. According to Cordae, he was initially planning to record something for the song. In the end, he changed his mind. So what exactly happened?
Too Soon For Success?
In an interview with Uninterrupted's "The Shop", Cordae commented on the decision to turn down what could have been a huge hit for him. "I thought about like, is it too early in my career to do a pop record this big, if that makes sense." The pop record in question? It was Maroon 5's hit single "Memories". The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top 100, which means that Cordae would have had a top 3 hit under his belt. Still, he says he doesn't regret it. Instead, he would rather focus on things that feel authentic to him. "I know it sounds cliche," Cordae said, "but I can’t ever lose that foundation because then I’ll lose the people."
Cordae has found quite a bit of success in music, even without featuring on a Maroon 5 song. Last year, he released From A Bird's Eye View, his second full-length album, which featured legends like Eminem and Stevie Wonder. Staying authentic seems to be working for him, and he's still confident he made the right choice. "I have no regrets whatsoever but I just wonder what would be different if I did do that," he said. Do you think Cordae made the right decision? Let us know in the comments.
[Via]