From a Birds Eye View

Maryland-hailing MC Cordae brags different. “Last year I made $7 million, didn’t have to do a single fucking show,” he raps on sophomore album From a Birds Eye View’s “Super.” It’s a rare chin-check for the haters, whereas the large majority of this project’s boasts are rooted in what that money has allowed Cordae to do for others. On “Super,” he’s bought a Birkin bag for his Aunt Regina and introduced his younger cousin to badminton. On “Momma’s Hood,” he’s bought his father—who he confesses to having a contentious relationship with later in the album—a “power-washing van.” On “Chronicles,” he admits that missteps in the context of a romantic relationship come with a $50,000 remorse fee. Being the object of Cordae’s affection pays.

This kind of spending is hardly uncommon for rap superstars, but what separates Cordae from your average chart-topping MC is his choice to center an album around it. He’s worked his whole life to get here, a story he tells across songs like “Today,” “C Carter,” and “Westlake High,” and the biggest reward is what success allows him to do for others. Depending on who you are, that might mean receiving something he’ll proudly tell the world about on record. For the rest of us, though, he’s got ultra-personal, high-level raps about his life and a handful of collaborations with rap icons like Lil Wayne (“Sinister”), Nas (“Champagne Glasses”), and Eminem (“Parables [Remix]”).