The Crossroads＜Silver Vinyl＞

Theres a subtle sense of maturity on The Crossroads, the third studio album from Maryland-based rapper Cordae. Prior to this album, Cordae experienced a relatively quick introduction to commercial success, going from his role in rap collective YBN in the late 2010s, then jumping right into mainstream notoriety and charting releases as a solo artist. The Crossroads sees some refinement to Cordaes styles both musical and lyrical, with instrumentals that can be lush and even undertoned with a gospel touch at times, and songwriting thats by turns nostalgic, personally reflective, or explosively charged. Cordae moves easily between these modes, going from the thoughtful, piano-centric melancholy of "Nothings Promised" to rageful outbursts like "Mad as F*ck" to the soul-sampling, club-ready fun of "Never See It" with Juicy J. Cordae teams with Anderson .Paak for the sweet and sunny "Summer Drop," Lil Wayne shows up for multiple tunes, Kanye West sings the hook on "No Bad News," and Joey Bada$$ contributes a verse to the post-Blonde lucid-dreaming R&B of "Syrup Sandwiches." While Cordaes presence as a dexterous lyrical rapper has always been apparent, hes reaching past his established strengths and into more emotionally searching territory on The Crossroads, without losing any of the excitement of his earlier output. ~ TiVo Staff

およそ3年ぶりの新作となった昨秋リリースのアルバムがLP化。豪華ゲストが集った前作を踏襲するように、先行曲でのアンダーソン・パークをはじめとする多彩な面々が参加し、ジューシーJとのソウル風味のメンフィス・マナー曲やフージーズの名曲を引用したタイ・ダラー・サインとのコラボあたりが特に印象的。表題から連想させる通りのイントロも最高だ。
bounce (C)Masso 187um