Cordae is 23 year old MC from Suitland, Maryland that came up as a member of the YBN collective just a few years ago. He first came on my radar with “Old N****s”, an immensely well written response to “1985”, which was one of the better tracks that J. Cole’s 5th album K.O.D. had to offer. That single alone earned Cordae a HUGE co-sign from none other than Dr. Dre as well as a deal with Atlantic Records, where he put out a potential showing debut The Lost Boy the following summer right after his 2019 XXL Freshman Class placement. But after dropping a prelude EP Just Until….. over the spring, Cordae’s finally back with his 2nd full-length.
After the “Shiloh’s Intro”, the first song “Jean Michel” sets it off with a rich boom bap instrumental & Cordae providing listeners with introspection whereas ”Super” has a soulful trap vibe boasting his success. “Momma’s Hood” has a more woozier vibe to it talking about driving down his mother’s old stomping grounds in a Jeep just before “Want From Me” goes into a more psychedelic direction with the help of Dem Jointz & Jake One asking this girl what more does she want from him. Meanwhile on “Today”, we have a unique trap beat from Kid Culture as none other than Gunna tags along with Cordae to talk about grinding & dismissing bullshit leading into “Shiloh’s Interlude”.
Following that, “C Carter” instrumentally has a west coast feel to it reminding listeners that he’s arrived & then Lil Wayne comes in for the Hit-Boy produced “Sinister” going at anyone who chooses to go bar-to-bar against them. Boi-1da takes it into acoustic trap territory for the H.E.R./Lil Durk-assisted “Chronicles” talking about not being sure where their hearts are headed while “Champagne Glasses” with Freddie Gibbs finds them on top of a spacious beat detailing conversations being complicated these days.
The song “Westlake High” works in a soul sample apologizing for his mistakes as well as shouting out his loved ones while the penultimate track “Parables” finds him & Eminem talking about on top of a twangy boom bap instrumental from Cardiak. “Gifted” with Roddy Ricch then ends the album with the 2 going back & forth with each other telling the world how blessed both of them are over a moody Bongo instrumental.
Compared to The Lost Boy, I think From a Bird’s Eye View happens to be a slightly better yet very much enjoyable follow-up. His production choices have gotten better & lyrically, it seems to me that he’s detailing a lot more of his life than he did 2 & a half years back.
Score: 3.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 