The Lost Boy (album)

The Lost Boy is the debut studio album by American rapper Cordae. The album was released on July 26, 2019, by Atlantic Records and Art@War, and contains features from Chance the Rapper, Anderson Paak, Ty Dolla Sign, Pusha T, Arin Ray, and Meek Mill.[1][2] The album has received widespread acclaim from music critics. The album was later nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards, while the album track "Bad Idea" was nominated a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.

The Lost Boy
Studio album by Cordae
Released	July 26, 2019
Genre	Hip hop
Length	45:19
Label	Atlantic Art@War
Producer	Cordae (also exec.) BazeXX SlimXX Bongo ByTheWay Cardiak CoopTheTruth Flippa G Koop Grandma illuid.haller J. Cole Kid Culture Maneesh MixedbyAli Bren “BrenOnTheBoards” Ferry Nils Rasool Russ Chell Slim Smoko Ono Take a Daytrip Terrace Martin
Cordae chronology
YBN: The Mixtape (2018) The Lost Boy (2019)
Singles from The Lost Boy
"Have Mercy" Released: March 8, 2019 "Bad Idea" Released: June 17, 2019 "RNP" Released: July 23, 2019

The Lost Boy was supported by three singles, "Have Mercy", "Bad Idea", and "RNP".[3][4][5]

Release and promotion

The album's lead single, "Have Mercy", was released on March 8, 2019.[3] Two music videos for "Have Mercy" was released on April 16, 2019, with the first one being directed by Cole Bennett and the other being directed by Aplus.[6] The single was produced by Flippa, Kid Culture, and Nils.

The album's second single, "Bad Idea", was released on June 17, 2019, along with an accompanied music video and features vocals from American rapper Chance the Rapper.[4][7] The single was produced by Bongo ByTheWay with co-production by Kid Culture.

The album's third single, "RNP", was released on July 23, 2019, and features vocals from American singer Anderson Paak.[5] The single was produced by J. Cole. The music video was released on October 14.[8]

The music video for "Broke As Fuck", was released on August 15, 2019.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Clash	8/10[12]
Exclaim!	9/10[13]
Highsnobiety	4.0/5[14]
HipHopDX	3.8/5[15]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[16]

The Lost Boy received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on five reviews.[10] Fred Thomas of AllMusic said, "The rapper's skills aren't in question on The Lost Boy, but the album sometimes overshoots in its ambition, aiming for too many styles to hit them all with excellence. It's still a strong collection, and when Cordae strikes a perfect balance of mellow production and lyrical power on standout tracks like "We Gon Make It," it points to even more fully formed work ahead from a strong talent just getting started."[11] Nicolas Tyrell of Clash stated "Both bold and filled with bravado, yet layered and emotional, YBN Cordae is able to convey his desires, hopes, and fears in an ambitious and well-thought out format. A strong debut from an artist who knows that he is capable of long-term success."[12]

Jacob Carey of Exclaim! said, "If The Lost Boy was the new wave rapper's most substantial test of talent and longevity, YBN Cordae passed with flying colours."[13] Scott Glaysher of HipHopDX stated "Encapsulates everything a Gen Z rapper should be aiming for; young gun energy mixed with traditional skill."[15] Will Schube of Pitchfork said, "Despite the glossy guestlist, The Lost Boy remains Cordae’s show. At 15 songs, it could have used an edit, another voice in the room telling him to tone it down. But still, it’s an assured debut."[16]

Commercial performance

The Lost Boy debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 for the chart dated August 10, 2019.[17] The album also debuted on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number eight.[18]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal.[19]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Wintertime"	Cordae Dunston Carl McCormick Illuid Haller Daniel Hackett Terrace Martin Jon Lucien	Cardiak Kid Culture^[a] Martin^[a] illuid.haller^[a]	3:01
2.	"Have Mercy"	Dunston Hackett Ronald Colson Nils Noehden	Flippa Kid Culture Nils	3:22
3.	"Sweet Lawd (Skit)"	Dunston Haller Hackett	illuid.haller Kid Culture^[a]	1:09
4.	"Bad Idea" (featuring Chance the Rapper)	Dunston Chancelor Bennett Uforo Ebong Hackett Roberta Flack Charles Mann Donny Hathaway	Bongo ByTheWay Kid Culture^[a]	3:55
5.	"Thanksgiving"	Dunston Hackett Cooper McGill Karim Hutton	CoopTheTruth Kid Culture	3:18
6.	"RNP" (featuring Anderson Paak)	Dunston Brandon Anderson Jermaine Cole	J. Cole	2:56
7.	"Broke as Fuck"	Dunston Hackett David Biral Denzel Baptiste Russ Chell Darian Garcia McGill Justin Zim Jariuce Banks	Take a Daytrip Russ Chell CoopTheTruth Kid Culture Smoko Ono	3:16
8.	"Thousand Words"	Dunston McCormick Maneesh Bidaye Martin	Cardiak Martin^[a]	3:20
9.	"Way Back Home" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign)	Dunston Tyrone Griffin, Jr. Hackett Robert Mandell	G Koop Kid Culture Mike Robbins	3:19
10.	"Grandma's House (Skit)"	Dunston Janet Dunston	Grandma YBN Cordae illuid.haller	1:23
11.	"Been Around"	Dunston Haller Hackett	Kid Culture illuid.haller	3:24
12.	"Nightmares Are Real" (featuring Pusha T)	Dunston Terrence Thornton Slim Allen Stephen Basil Haller Hackett	Bazexx Kid Culture Slim illuid.haller	2:47
13.	"Family Matters" (featuring Arin Ray)	Dunston Arin Ray Ebong Thomas Brenneck Homer Steinweiss David Guy Leon Michels Ramon Velez	Bongo ByTheWay	3:31
14.	"We Gon Make It" (featuring Meek Mill)	Dunston Robert Williams Ebong Hackett Kenneth Gamble Leon Huff	Bongo ByTheWay Kid Culture	3:57
15.	"Lost & Found"	Dunston Rasool Diaz Bidaye	Maneesh Rasool	2:41
Total length:				45:19

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• "Wintertime" features vocals by Quincy Jones and additional vocals by PJ
• "Sweet Lawd (Skit)" and "Grandma's House (Skit)" features additional vocals by Arin Ray, Masego and SiR
• "Bad Idea" features additional vocals by Ant Clemons and SiR
• "Thanksgiving" features background vocals by SiR
• "Broke As Fuck" features background vocals by Jehreeus Banks
• "Thousand Words" features background vocals by Syd
• "Been Around" features background vocals by Hasani and vocals by Quincy Jones
• "Family Matters" features additional vocals by ThePpl

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[19]

Instrumentation Aliandro Prawl – keyboards (track 4) Amanda Bailey – strings (track 4) Tarron Crayton – bass (tracks 4, 13, 14) Kid Culture – programming (track 4) Karim "Kace" Hutton – bass (track 5) Isaac Wriston – bass (track 1, 8) Johnathan Smith – piano (track 1, 8) Justin Zim – bass (track 7) Freaky Rob – guitar (track 9) illuid.haller – piano (track 10) G Koop – guitar (track 12) Raymond Komba – piano (track 13 14)

Technical Brendan "Bren" Ferry – recording (tracks 1–8, 10–15) Pedro Calloni – recording (track 2) Juro "Mez" Davis – recording (track 6) Take a Daytrip – recording (track 7) Cyrus "NOIS" Taghipour – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12–15) Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – mixing (all tracks) Aria "Angel" Ali – mixing (tracks 2, 4, 6) Dave Kutch – mastering (all tracks) Zachary Acosta – engineering assistant (all tracks), mixing (tracks 2, 3) Curtis "Sircut" Bye – engineering assistant (track 2)

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20]	27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21]	105
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22]	12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23]	25
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24]	49
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25]	21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	77
UK Albums (OCC)[27]	85
US Billboard 200[28]	13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29]	8

References

1. "YBN Cordae Releases Debut Solo Album 'The Lost Boy' f/ Chance the Rapper, Pusha-T, and More". Complex. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
2. "YBN Cordae Releases 'The Lost Boy' Project Featuring Pusha T, Meek Mill & Ty Dolla $ign: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
3. Montes, Patrick (March 8, 2019). "YBN Cordae Delivers More Hard-Hitting Bars for New Single, "Have Mercy"". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
4. "Bad Idea (feat. Chance the Rapper) - Single by YBN Cordae". Apple Music. June 17, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
5. "RNP (feat. Anderson .Paak) - Single by YBN Cordae". Apple Music. July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
6. Saponara, Michael (April 16, 2019). "YBN Cordae Drops Pair of New Videos for 'Have Mercy': Choose Your Path". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
7. Strauss, Matthew (June 17, 2019). "Chance the Rapper Joins YBN Cordae on New Song "Bad Idea": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
8. Saponara, Michael (October 14, 2019). "YBN Cordae & Anderson .Paak Choose Between Basketball & Crime in Groovy 'RNP' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
9. Montes, Patrick (August 15, 2019). "YBN Cordae Chronicles a Hectic Adventure for New "Broke As F*ck" Video". Hypebeast. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
10. "The Lost Boy by YBN Cordae Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
11. Thomas, Fred. "The Lost Boy – YBN Cordae". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
12. Tyrell, Nicolas (July 26, 2019). "YBN Cordae – The Lost Boy". Clash. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
13. Carey, Jacob (July 29, 2019). "YBN Cordae: The Lost Boy". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
14. Hobbs, Thomas (July 29, 2019). "YBN Cordae Is Wise Beyond His Years on the Radiant 'The Lost Boy'". Highsnobiety. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
15. Glaysher, Scott (August 14, 2019). "Review: YBN Cordae's "The Lost Boy" Showcases The Promise Ahead". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
16. Schude, Will (July 29, 2019). "YBN Cordae: The Lost Boy Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
17. "Billboard 200 - August 10, 2019". Billboard 200. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
18. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - August 10, 2019". Retrieved March 30, 2020.
19. "The Lost Boy / YBN Cordae". Tidal. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
20. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
21. "Ultratop.be – YBN Cordae – The Lost Boy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
22. "Billboard Canadian Albums: August 10, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – YBN Cordae – The Lost Boy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
24. "Irish Albums Chart: 2 August 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
25. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
26. "Swisscharts.com – YBN Cordae – The Lost Boy". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
28. "YBN Cordae Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
29. "YBN Cordae Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2020.