Cordae (fka YBN Cordae) has long been a critical and underground darling, capturing the attention of the intent listeners and the Genius readers with songwriting ability that’s hard to find in modern hip-hop. Following 2022’s From A Birds Eye View, it seems we’re in the midst of another burgeoning Cordae album cycle as he delivers his latest single, “Saturday Mornings.”
Cordae Proves S-Tier Lyrical Ability Again On “Saturday Mornings”
As the title promises, this truly is Saturday Morning Cartoons for a certain generation of rap fans. Between the chiptune vocal sample and the heavy emphasis on lyricism, it’s a heartful throwback song despite some of the more modern production touches. Cordae takes a stream-of-consciousness approach on his 40+ bar verse, opining on the qualities he hopes to embody as a man, the state of the rap industry and his talents on the mic, making good on his claim that: “like the Nile [he] can flow for years.”
Probably the wittiest and most honest quip he has is when he spits, “No cap for me / We get money like athletes / Like the eighth man on the Wizards, that’s more of a match for me.” For what it’s worth, what a rotation player makes in the NBA is nothing to scoff at anymore, but Cordae’s ability to poke fun at his overall size is reflective of the freedom he raps with on this track. For better or for worse, most artists with such an emphasis on quality of lyrics and throwback aesthetics do tend to have a ceiling, and embracing that fact rather than swimming upstream suits the former YBN-er.
A Standout Lil Wayne Verse & The Assumed Star Power of Cordae’s 3rd LP
Speaking of perfect matches, Cordae’s peer on this song is none other than Lil Wayne. Regardless of your familiarity with modern hip-hop, it should go without saying what Weezy’s co-sign means, especially when it’s delivered alongside a standout verse like the one he turns in here. His flow is metronome-like, eschewing some of the zanier cadences he can comfortably slip into for a more consistent approach that iterates on some of the concepts Cordae sets up, starting with the couplet, “I need more real love and less fake laughs / I wear this mean mug like it’s a face mask,” before spinning out into a verse that references everything from Space Jam to Graceland.
Given that Cordae mentions “wrapping up the album” on this song, this will ostensibly slide onto the tracklist for Cordae’s 3rd studio LP. With early musical returns from this and from his Anderson .Paak-assisted “Two Tens” alongside no beats missed in the pen game department, those pining for a more lyrical era of hip-hop should be well fed by the time it arrives. For now, you can catch “Saturday Mornings” and all of the Cordae backlog wherever you stream your music.
Elsewhere in our coverage, Lil Yachty + James Blake – Bad Cameo provides one of the more unique, heady listens of 2024.
