By: Dominic Hwang

Sports Editor

All the dichotomies facing artists, whether that of experience and youth, victory and struggle, or the pressure of providing versus the joy of creating are explored in Cordae and Anderson Paak’s album Heavy Is the Crown. The album continues their chemistry, which started from the Grammy-nominated album The Lost Boy, Cordae’s debut album. With production from artists like J. Cole and distribution and record deals through EMPIRE and Nas’s Mass Appeal, it’s easy to understand the hype. Both artists are established within the industry, and critics and fans alike are excited to see what this next step in their collaboration will lead to. The album is projected to reach 15,000 sales and more than ten million streams during its first week following its Oct. 23 release. 

The marketing for the project started back in early September with cryptic images posted to both artists’ Instagram stories. From the beginning, the album has promised to harness the complementary yet distinct styles of the rising Cordae and the established Anderson Paak. Cordae, whose full name is Cordae Amari Brooks, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1997 and began his rap career in 2014 as part of the now-defunct YBN collective. His debut album, The Lost Boy, peaked at No.13 on Billboard’s Top 100 and earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, while its single, Bad Idea, earned a nomination for Best Rap Song. Since then, his albums have varied in commercial success but achieved similar critical acclaim. Anderson Paak, whose legal name is Brandon Paak Anderson, honors both his Los Angeles African-American roots and South Korean heritage; his middle name Paak, a Korean surname, reflects this. Anderson brings a bevy of experience as a producer, lyricist, instrumentalist, and rapper. His last collaboration, Silk Sonic, with Bruno Mars, won four Grammys, and he and Cordae hope to create similar success with Heavy Is the Crown. 

The album’s lead single, It Was a Good Day, gives a tantalizing taste into what the duo produced. The song combines the beat of Bill Wither’s iconic Lovely Day and the lyrical structure of Ice Cube’s It Was a Good Day, resulting in a perfect blend of smooth R&B and ‘90s hip-hop. The rest of the album is filled with clever double entendres, but interestingly has no other features. Paak’s excellence in all spheres of the production process and Cordae’s ability to adjust to any kind of beat ensure that every song on the album is not only enjoyable but outright worthy of being put on repeat again and again. Both artists possess similarly smooth styles, although Cordae acts as a generational bridge between the influences of Nas and Kanye and the new generation, while Paak brings a more R&B style that simultaneously recalls older Mississippi influences and his West Coast upbringing. The mix of Paak’s skill with production, Los Angeles roots, and R&B style with Cordae’s North Carolina roots, southern hip-hop word mastery and youth promises to create an album accessible and enjoyable to both casual listeners and hip-hop fans around the world. 

Sources: (Billboard, Cordae, EMPIRE)