Anderson .Paak & Cordae - 'Heavy Is The Crown'
What’s Good Y’all! WOW, it’s already November! The year has flown by so fast, but it hasn’t slowed the progress music has made as artists keep exploring different genres, trying new sounds, and break all the rules. My next feature is a duo you may have heard from before but weren’t expecting a collaboration from, or maybe it's just me who continues to be surprised by the release of this project; I don’t know. But Anderson .Paak and Cordae have given me an album I can’t stop playing. This would be Anderson .Paak’s second collab album (his first, performing as Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars), and Cordae’s first. However, this isn't their first time collaborating, so I guess the surprise is really on me. Their first collaboration was "RNP" (2019), which appeared on Cordae's Grammy-nominated debut album, The Lost Boy. "Two Tens" (2023): A single that reunited them over another beat provided by J. Cole. And last but not least, "Summer Drop" (2024): Their final track together before locking in for a full album. Both "Two Tens" and "Summer Drop" were featured on Cordae's third studio album, The Crossroads.
Heavy Is The Crown is the title of their collaborative album, as they pose and dress as a parody of the iconic movie Step Brothers. While many view Anderson .Paak as R&B, I feel like this album is where he fully throws himself into making people remember; when it comes to Hip-Hop, he does this too. There’s something about Cordae and Anderson .Paak together that does it for me. Maybe it’s the way they both flow so easily on the beat, letting every rhythm catch their words, or maybe it's their creative chemistry, because once you hear the album…it just makes sense. Whatever it is, this album made me want more as I dove deeper into their worldflow, samples, and meticulously placed nods to hip hop throughout.
‘58th Floor’, another track produced by J. Cole and one of my favorite tracks on the album, pays homage to Biggie. .Paak calls Cordae on the phone, and they have a conversation as if this is a real story. It’s fun, it's funny, and it sets the tone for the album, like they're about to pay homage to the game. I love that there are no features on this album; it's just Anderson .Paak and Cordae doing it for the love of Hip-Hop. I love how well they bounce off each other lyrically. Sometimes on collaborative projects, you have those moments where one person shines and stands out a little more than the other. With this project, both .Paak and Cordae could stand alone and together, their words flowing like butter on crispy-edged pancakes.
I had to play the album a couple of times to pick up what they were putting down on the track ‘You’re Mine.’ While it reads and sounds like they are discussing a woman, if you listen closer, you’ll hear the sample and nod to Common. As the song plays on, you realize they are talking about their love for Hip-Hop, which so easily sounds like a love they ran into after some time apart.
As you get towards the end of the album, I love that you get two different perspectives from each artist. Cordae, a 29-year-old single father who is still trynna figure it all out, and a 40-year-old newly divorced Anderson .Paak, who now has to share custody of his kids, is also trynna figure it all out. Which leads us back to the album title: is the crown heavy because of the various roles they constantly have to play in their daily lives? Or is this a metaphor for Hip-Hop in general when it comes to being the best? It’s a question you’ll keep asking yourself as you reach the very last track on the album, ‘Godfather II.’
Anderson .Paak and Cordae are two phenomenal artists I feel like we don't mention enough, especially within the realm of Hip-Hop. Together, they brought us a project that was fun, imaginative, and brought Hip-Hop back to its roots with storytelling and bar-grabbing lines that made you smile, dance, or relate. If this album wasn’t created to remind people that Hip-Hop is still alive and well, then I hope this is an album that was created with the intention of being fun and taking it back to basics!
Check out their latest project below and let me know what you think:
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