“I wanted to get better, like, as a songwriter, as a rapper... verses... storytelling... beat selection and taste in beat selection... and that requires work and time, so I feel like this is my best foot forward thus far." That's Cordae speaking with Billboard on his brand-new and third studio album The Crossroads. Besides these aspirations and confident words, it's been a project on fans' radar. It's for good reason too, because some of the singles leading up to today were pretty impeccable. "Summer Drop," "Saturday Mornings," and "Syrup Sandwiches" are some our personal favorites.
But does The Crossroads live up to its self-praise by its creative mind? Overall, we can see some improvements, especially in the wordplay and storytelling. It's why those aforementioned tracks are thought of so highly. Where the album sort falls a little flat is in the more braggadocious pop rap cuts. "Mad as F*ck," "Never See It," and "Back on the Road" are couple of examples that just don't have that oomph. While the beats on these tracks are certainly solid, we feel that this lane isn't where Cordae truly feels at home. But generally speaking, there's quality here and growth from the North Carolina spitter.
The Crossroads - Cordae
The Crossroads Tracklist:
- Intro
- 06 dreamin
- Back on the Road (feat. Lil Wayne)
- Summer Drop (feat. Anderson .Paak)
- Nothings Promised
- Mad as F*ck
- All Alone
- Never See It (feat. Juicy J)
- Pray (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
- Don't Walk Away (feat. Jordan Ward & Ravyn Lenae)
- Saturday Mornings (feat. Lil Wayne)
- No Bad News (feat. Kanye West)
- Shai Afreni
- What Really Matters
- Syrup Sandwiches (feat. Joey Bada$$)
- Now You Know
- Two Tens (feat. Anderson .Paak) - Bonus Track