Who is YBN Cordae? The rapper bridging ‘old heads’ with the new generation
YBN Cordae is a rapper who’s been making a name for himself and is of course part of the YBN music group which features YBN Nahmir and YBN Almighty Jay.
He recently came onto to the scene in 2018 and really started getting attention when he dropped “Old N*ggas,” a remixed response J. Cole’s “1985” track calling out the new generation of rappers.
Now with videos dropping on Worldstar regularly, he’s racking up millions of views light and proving that he’s much more than just a side member of YBN. He does it differently too — speaking the truth and showing respect to the old heads all while still being a part of this new generation of hip-hop.
Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina but moved to Maryland when he was 10. Despite being from Raliegh, he claims the whole DMV area as a place that helped shape him and help him grow into the person and artist he is today.
His father was a big fan of Big L Nas, Biggie and it shows in his rapping style which completely contradicts new artists today and pays homage to rap in the 90s.
He met YBN Nahmir through the internet on XBox and the group stayed in touch over the years and kept on rapping. After a couple years YBN Nahmir released a song called “Rubbin Off Paint” that literally blew up overnight which led him to get signed.
The DMV rapper noticed this and congratulated his friend and kept it at that he even said in an interview with Adam 22 from No Jumper,
“I was happy for him and I wasn’t going to hit him up for favors because when you blow up that’s what happens so I kept my distance but he hit me up one day and told me I should come to LA.”
Originally working at Fridays trying to support himself while in college, Cordae hated his job and told Adam22 of No Jumper, “I knew I was meant to do something bigger.”
The rapper has always set high goals for himself that he plans to achieve and he knew that the time would come when he would need to pursue his dreams. That hope came when his remix of Eminem’s “My Name Is” blew up overnight.
Keeping his lyrics clear and concise he tells the audience through his bars that he is different from other rappers calling them average.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07tFOl-9Av4
His flow is a mix of old and new and YBN Cordae has definitely showcased that he can actually spit bars in his songs as well as killing freestyles when he steps into radio stations for interviews.
YBN Cordae doesn’t just mix the old school with the new — he serves as a bridge to connect OGs with young rappers of this generation.
And unlike many of the rappers today, he doesn’t like to wear big expensive chains. He said in the interview No Jumper interview,
“I’m gonna be saving so much money by not buying designer clothes and jewelry. Once your wear those Gucci sneakers you’re going to have to keep going because once you start it is never enough for people”.
Cordae is trying stack up as much bread as possible through his rap career and he is not going to let other people opinions pressure him into buying shit he doesn’t need. He already stands out above the crowd of rappers by making this choice.
Hopefully, he will influence a new generation to stray away from the era of rappers flexing their cash, by buying chains, expensive clothes, cars and create a new wave of artists that see things differently.