Rap has experienced an interesting release radar this year. While huge names in the scene have dropped albums, it seems to me that the substance of their work is starting to fly out the window. Some may be quick to cite “Vultures 1” by Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign as one of the worst albums of the year, and I’ll disagree, only because I think it may be one of the worst rap releases ever. Other artists have dropped albums severely lacking in what drove them to the music industry in the first place. Take J. Cole’s tired and boring “Might Delete Later,” or 21 Savage’s trope-filled “American Dream.”
This is all to say the mainstream rap artists have been, in my opinion, on a steady decline for the past half a decade. This has left an open zone where some mainstream rappers have fought the lack of excitement with experimentation, and underground rappers have started to fill the void.
Cordae’s “The Crossroads” is one of these albums where mainstream rappers have been experimenting with their music. This album is special in a few different ways, but its most prominent feature is that it feels like care has been taken in its release. This is not to say that it’s a perfect album. There are tropes scattered throughout and some puzzling additions, but like every genre of music, this is to be expected. One highlight of the album is the song “Summer Drop,” which features Anderson .Paak and is a perfect blend of Cordae’s flow and Paak’s harmony. The beat is great and soulful, and the lyrics are powerful. Funnily enough, J. Cole produced the track, which shows the artist in him is still there somewhere.
The next track, “Nothings Promised,” samples “Heard ’Em Say” by Kanye West (Ye), which is a soulful track filled with a backing choir that harkens back to the early 2000s rap scene. However, rather unfortunately, this moment of remembrance is shattered later in the album’s track cycle when a washed-up and barely engaged Ye shows up on “No Bad News.” Luckily, one feature doesn’t ruin the rest of the album, but Ye’s inclusion does leave a sour taste in my mouth and the mouths of many others due to his hate-filled tirades the past few years.
The song “Now You Know” wraps up the album and feels like a solid goodbye to the project. Cordae delivers a heartfelt message about loss over a gospel sample. It’s a good conclusion to the themes present throughout the album before he transitions into the bonus track at the end of the album, “Two Tens,” also featuring Anderson .Paak.
Overall, “The Crossroads” is an album that not only switches up Cordae’s status quo but also serves as a beacon of hope in an era where the rap game is going through a drought. Featuring elements of the old guard of hip-hop, this album shows a nice dichotomy between present and past, and the beats across the album’s songs represent the broad style of hip-hop that has existed throughout the past 20 years. “The Crossroads” is not flawless, but it doesn’t need to be, and where it does shine, it promises a relatively adventurous career for Cordae going forward.
