YBN Cordae- The Lost Boy Review by Anne-Marie Nkhoma

Cordae Dunston is a rapper and singer-songwriter who was raised in Maryland. Though Cordae started off his career with the name Entendre, he soon became a part of the hip-hop group called YBN (hence his current stage name). The other members of the group are YBN Almighty Jay and YBN Nahmir. On July 26 th 2019, the rapper released his first ever album. Though YBN Cordae is only 22 years old, his music blends new school rap with old school hip-hop, especially in this album.

The Lost Boy highlights an emotional journey that he goes through, and has been going through since he was a child. This is addressed in his song Bad Idea, where he raps about not growing up with wealth and having second hand clothing. In the song Broke, despite its upbeat sound at the beginning, the chorus alone talks about his grandma who passed away only at 62, his brother’s sentence to 25 years in prison, PTSD, as well as fears for the future. It gives listeners an insight on how much YBN Cordae has been through, and how he would sometimes overthink things. Though it sounds like most of the rapper’s troubles are from the past, he shows that he still is facing hardships in the
song Family Matters. In the song, he describes his family members such as his cousin with an abusive partner, and how he found out that he had a 5 year old half-brother. Although the hardships the family’s faced they still encouraged him, and he feels guilty and selfish for chasing after his dreams as a rapper.

As well as The Lost Boy being executive produced by YBN Cordae himself, J Cole, Russ and Quincy Jones had played a part in the production of this project. Even though they weren’t featured on the songs, you’ll be able to hear elements from their work on this album.

Overall, I think this album is so far one of the best albums of this year. YBN Cordae excellently shows his ability to tell stories, and though some songs sound like they don’t have as much meaning as others, each song carries at least one important message.

I give this album ★★★★★/★★★★★.

Tracklist:
1. Wintertime
2. Have Mercy
3. Sweet Lawd (skit)
4. Bad Idea (feat. Chance the Rapper)
5. Thanksgiving
6. RNP (feat. Anderson Paak)
7. Broke
8. Thousand Words
9. Way back home (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
10. Grandma’s House (skit)
11. Been Around
12. Nightmares Are Real (feat. Pusha T)
13. Family Matters (feat Arin Ray)
14. We Gon Make It (feat Meek Mill)
15. Lost & Found

Genre: Hip-hop/Rap