YBN CORDAE X "THE LOST BOY"

And we are back with our second official review! As promised, the below are our metrics for our reviews. To see our previous review of Freddie Gibbs x Madlib, "Bandana," click here. 

FEEL- What type of feelings do the music invoke? What does it make you want to do?

LYRICS- Are there bars?

PRODUCTION- Does the artist ride the beats? Does their cadence match the production? Does the production fit well with the project?

OVERALL- How many tracks to we like compared to the number of tracks on the project?

Feel free to use the above for your own reference as you go through the music and let us know what you think! 

YBN CORDAE; “THE LOST BOY.”

Release Date: July 26^th, 2019

Number of Tracks: 15

Duration: 45 minutes

Favorite Track: “Wintertime,” YBN Cordae

We here at Oracle Rap Reviews are huge fans of legendary underground rapper Curren$y, and naturally check for all of his drops. One of his recent projects entitled, Gran Turismo, we came across the track, “Nothin Less,” featuring YBN Cordae. To this point, we had no prior knowledge of Cordae’s work, and knew of him by name only. Unfortunately, as a result of his YBN tag, he can easily be lumped in with others that share that same tag, which can lead to an unfair judgement. Cordae did such a good job on his verse that I instantly began to check for his work, though there was not much of it for me to reference. When he got the nod as a XXL 2019 Freshman, I knew that it was well deserved, his freestyle was very well done, and that his next album would be something to look forward to. I did not have to wait long before The Lost Boy was released on Friday the 26^th. 

As soon as you press play you are met with one of the smoothest introduction tracks I have heard in a long time, and I could not help but nod my head and play it back over and over again. I was both surprised and very impressed with Cordae’s flow, because while he is young, he does not rap like it. The first name that comes to mind when I think of a comparison is one Joey BadA$$, though that is not to say that one is better than the other. Based on the intro, I knew that I was in for a great album, and the young man did not let me down. And while the album boasts an impressive list of features for an album with some big names like Meek Mill, Anderson .Paak, Chance the Rapper, and Pusha T, they did not outshine the young Cordae. 

Feel

Starting with Wintertime, I felt like I could lean my head back and relax, while I let the music take me wherever I wanted to go. Whether that be to the gym to play some ball, or to my room to relax, the possibilities are there thanks to the music. Anyone who loves music knows this feeling well, and the smooth production coupled with Cordae’s delivery just feels satisfying. He did not stop their either. The album does not change much in way of sound or delivery and the project as a whole just feels… relatable. The young man certainly has a story to tell, but his is not one of falsified gang activities, nor is it mired with rants of large lump sums of money that no one really has. Instead, it is a story of a young man struggling to find his purpose, raised by his Grandmother, in a family that is certainly not perfect- just like all of ours.

Lyrics

“The Lost Boy,” is what I like to call bar heavy. Many tracks give me the urge to replay them, for fear I may have missed an important nuance that makes the track that much harder. I had to play back quite a few tracks, thinking to myself, “Did I really just hear that?” And when that content was confirmed, I quickly reached out to others to highlight the impact these lyrics were having on me, to see if they would do the same for them. Personally, because I find much of the content to be so relatable, the bars that stick out to me the most, are those which I cannot relate to. The below highlight a few of our favorites:

“Call up Scottie wit the shottie cuz I feel Pippen.” – YBN Cordae, “Lost & Found.”

“Before I took a kilo and I wrapped it – I rapped it.” Pusha T, “Nightmares Are Real.”

“Aiming for the top I’m on target like a Brady pass. Did a show for 80 cash and threw it in my lady bag. That was fuckin easy money sniper on my KD swag.” – YBN Cordae, “Wintertime.”

Production

Cadence is something a rapper can control, but can often switch up unnecessarily. Part of this comes from constant critics, and part of it comes from a rapper just trying to switch things up. Another reason a rapper might switch their flow up is if the beat calls for it, or if the production in general gives them a reason to. Cordae’s cadence fits perfectly with every beat, and this remained constant throughout the project. According to a recent interview on The Breakfast Club, J.Cole had a lot to do with that, producing a track for the young rapper himself. Consistency is something we like here at Oracle Rap Reviews, and Cordae’s flow delivered that well, along with the production throughout the album. 

Overall

The Lost Boy is an album that is masterfully done, so much so that I cannot help but feel joy that there are young rappers out there that care about the game, and are actually interested in respecting the legends that came before them. Unfortunately, Cordae’s name can easily be washed away with the youthful rappers that are not doing a good job of this today, and are even falling to the trend in the other direction, where they disrespect both the rap game and those who came before them. It would be easier for me to list out the tracks that I do not like, which are solely the two skit tracks, which I never a huge fan of, for a final score of 13 out of 15. That means that front to back, this album rides in a way that will surely stand the test of time in our rap library archives. YBN Cordae and his camp should be proud of the work they have done, and I encourage anyone who has not done so already to stop what they are doing and give it a listen. If you find that you do not feel the same, we understand, but Oracle Rap Reviews will have no problem cosigning this one. The Lost Boy is the closest we have come to a perfect album score since the one that we heard the young man debut on, the afore mentioned Gran Turismo. 

YBN Cordae still has a lot to prove in the rap game, but I am confident that he is well on his way, if he continues to keep up the same energy as was displayed on The Lost Boy. If he retains the same consistency that he has shown to date, and continues to study from the greats that came before him and hone his craft, the sky's the limit for this young man. 

-        Signed, The Oracle, 7.31.19

Edited by: MJG Story Creation