The Lost Boy (album)

Last updated
The Lost Boy
LostBoyCordae.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 26, 2019
Genre
Length45:19
Label
Producer
YBN Cordae chronology
YBN: The Mixtape
(2018)
The Lost Boy
(2019)
From a Birds Eye View
(2022)
Singles from The Lost Boy
  1. "Have Mercy"
    Released: March 8, 2019
  2. "Bad Idea"
    Released: June 17, 2019
  3. "RNP"
    Released: July 23, 2019

The Lost Boy is the debut studio album by American rapper Cordae (then known as YBN 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.

Contents

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" were 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
SourceRating
Metacritic 81/100 [10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Clash 8/10 [12]
Exclaim! 9/10 [13]
Highsnobiety 4.0/5 [14]
HipHopDX 3.8/5 [15]
Pitchfork 7.0/10 [16]
Tom Hull – on the Web A− [17]

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] Tom Hull ranked it 52nd on his list of the best non-jazz albums from 2019. [18]

Commercial performance

The Lost Boy debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200, with 25.000 copies moved in its first week for the chart dated August 10, 2019. [19] The album also debuted on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number eight. [20]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal. [21]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wintertime"
3:01
2."Have Mercy"
  • Flippa
  • Kid Culture
  • Nils
3:19
3."Sweet Lawd (Skit)"
  • Dunston
  • Haller
  • Hackett
  • illuid.haller
  • Kid Culture [a]
1:09
4."Bad Idea" (featuring Chance the Rapper)
3:54
5."Thanksgiving"
  • Dunston
  • Hackett
  • Cooper McGill
  • Karim Hutton
  • CoopTheTruth
  • Kid Culture
3:18
6."RNP" (featuring Anderson .Paak) J. Cole 2:56
7."Broke as Fuck"
3:16
8."Thousand Words"
  • Dunston
  • McCormick
  • Maneesh Bidaye
  • Martin
  • Cardiak
  • Martin [a]
3:20
9."Way Back Home" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign)
  • 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)
  • Bazexx
  • Kid Culture
  • Slim
  • illuid.haller
2:47
13."Family Matters" (featuring Arin Ray)
Bongo ByTheWay3:31
14."We Gon Make It" (featuring Meek Mill)
  • Bongo ByTheWay
  • Kid Culture
3:57
15."Lost & Found"
2:41
Total length:45:19

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [21]

Charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [22] 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [23] 105
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [24] 12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [25] 25
Irish Albums (IRMA) [26] 49
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [27] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [28] 77
UK Albums (OCC) [29] 85
US Billboard 200 [30] 13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [31] 8

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References

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  2. "YBN Cordae Releases 'The Lost Boy' Project Featuring Pusha T, Meek Mill & Ty Dolla $ign: Listen". Billboard . Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Montes, Patrick (March 8, 2019). "YBN Cordae Delivers More Hard-Hitting Bars for New Single, "Have Mercy"". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Bad Idea (feat. Chance the Rapper) - Single by YBN Cordae". Apple Music . June 17, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "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.
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  11. 1 2 Thomas, Fred. "The Lost Boy – YBN Cordae". AllMusic . Retrieved March 30, 2020.
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  14. Hobbs, Thomas (July 29, 2019). "YBN Cordae Is Wise Beyond His Years on the Radiant 'The Lost Boy'". Highsnobiety . Retrieved July 29, 2019.
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