34 Facts About Cordae

Cordae Amari Brooks, known mononymously as Cordae, is an American rapper.

Cordae began his career as a member of the hip hop collective YBN.

Cordae lived in nearby Zebulon, North Carolina until he was 9 years old when his family relocated to Suitland, Maryland, where he was mostly raised.

Cordae prioritized his studies, but often became distracted by writing lyrics.

Cordae graduated from high school in 2015 and decided to go to college at Towson University.

Cordae dropped out in 2018, explaining that college was "bigger than him" as a first-generation student, and he was mainly doing it for his mother.

Cordae released three mixtapes as a teenager under the name Entendre: Anxiety, I'm So Anxious, and I'm So Anonymous.

Cordae began taking his rap career seriously in early 2018.

Nahmir had reached out to Cordae after hearing a song Brooks made.

Cordae said he already felt like a part of YBN, and so changed from "Entendre" to "YBN Cordae".

In May 2018, Cordae released his first single, which he called his "introduction to the world": a remix of the 1999 song "My Name Is" by Eminem.

Cordae released the song along with a music video via WorldStarHipHop on YouTube.

In May 2018, Cordae made his debut live performance at the annual Rolling Loud music festival, where he performed with YBN Nahmir and YBN Almighty Jay.

Cordae performed with the duo again for the 2018 XXL Freshman Show in New York City, after Nahmir was announced as an inductee of the yearly freshman class.

Cordae released the music video for his single, "Scotty Pippen", on August 23,2018.

On January 28,2019, Cordae released a music video for a new song, "Locationships", on his YouTube channel.

Cordae was named as one of the members of XXL's "2019 Freshman Class" on June 20.

Cordae released "Bad Idea" and "RNP" as the second and third singles from the album, and finally the album itself on July 26,2019.

In November, YBN Cordae announced that he would be headlining "The Lost Boy in America Tour", which began in January 2020.

Cordae subsequently dropped the YBN from his stage name and asked YBN Nahmir for his blessing of the name change.

Cordae released his second studio album, From a Birds Eye View, on January 14,2022.

Cordae is featured by NF in the song "Careful" which is the third song of the album Hope released on April 7,2023.

In July 2023, Cordae performed on the Lyrical Lemonade track "Doomsday" alongside the late rapper Juice Wrld; the song is the first single off the Lyrical Lemonade debut compilation album All Is Yellow.

On November 15,2024, Cordae released his third studio album, The Crossroads.

Cordae has repeatedly said that, given his musical background and understanding of old school hip-hop and what hip-hop is evolving into, he can be the key in bridging the generational gap in hip-hop.

Cordae is building a solid buzz for himself day by day, and letting the world know his bars and rhymes are ahead of his time.

Cordae is the result of perfect timing, a need for change and managing to bridge the gap between aesthetic and talent.

Cordae told Adam22 on the No Jumper podcast that he "hated" it and that he knew he was destined for more.

Cordae participated in a Black Lives Matter protest in 2016, rapping among the crowd about the struggles he faced, and the issues he'd been noticing in his community.

Cordae wore a defund the police t-shirt while watching the 2020 US Open women's singles final.

Cordae began dating tennis star Naomi Osaka in 2019, whom he met at a Los Angeles Clippers game.

In September 2024, Cordae revealed via his Instagram story that he legally changed his last name from Dunston to Brooks.

On January 6,2025, Naomi Osaka announced she and Cordae were no longer in a relationship.

Osaka stated there was "no bad blood" between the two and that Cordae is "a great person and an awesome dad".