Anderson .Paak and Cordae know when to take themselves seriously-it’s in the bars and not the theme. Another brilliant collaboration where .Paak’s prolific Midas touch shows once more.
When Anderson .Paak is not playing, he’s playing. This is a musician who evolved with genres and shared an appreciation that many artists talk about but never walk the walk. Collaborating for the fourth or fifth time over the decades with rapper Cordae, they’re back discussing their missteps, stance in life, and mutual moral reasoning on an album that is guaranteed to be fun. I mean, the album cover is an ode to the comedy cult classic Step Brothers. This one is called Heavy Is the Crown.
The talented Mr. Paak
Having been a singer, rapper, and drummer, you can expect Anderson Park to be the one-man band and the spine for this album as Cordae puts down whimsy, weight and a plethora of words through these tracks. RNP, Two Tens and Summer Drop have already shown us how this duo gels. Paak is known for shapeshifting like no musician before; the soulful Silk Sonic was the previous full-length album you were made to experience. A lot of singles and short EPs have graced our Friday release radar at some point or the other. What’s different here?
Opening with the track “58th Floor,” there is a swagger that both of them lean on as ludicrous scenarios fill up the verse section. Surprisingly, it’s not live drums that open the track but a droning synth holding the fort while pounding 808s gives us the rhythm. Anderson .Paak and Cordae trade verses after another, and after seeing that album art, you can almost see a devilish playful charm in their words. Were you looking for the switch-up? You get it exactly in the middle of the song, and the entire footing of the vibe changes. It has a great touch of ’90s-infused hip hop in it while keeping the canvas clean for the comfortable groove the duo will get up to.
Switching up, shifting down
The background and verse section for “Airbender” is one of the cleanest, smoothest entry points you will see. Cordae and Anderson .Paak enjoy this album. The gravity is obviously held by the lyrics, with current references and their mutual love for pop culture and general taste coming through in their writing. Using each other’s last words as cues, they develop and weave through an immaculate flow that you really get into even though the track is less than a minute and a half long. When you listen to the next track, called “I’m On,” you start noticing the odd time expression and general swing being inclined more towards Paak’s style of composing drums for a song. His lyrical prowess is at its strongest here, and Cordae being given one half of the reins just for some ambitious jumps really adds to the thrill of the songs.
Back to brilliant music videos
I’d like to give kudos to the duo for the super entertaining music video for “A Good Day.” The music videos now try to focus on the flash and hype, with all the heavy lifting that AI can do with the editing process. Clever visuals, references, and a fun track add to what Cordae and Anderson .Paak can write for the song and concurrent story for the music video. Packed with comedic grooves and breaks, this is where their chemistry starts showing a dynamism in not just writing clever lyrics, but not taking themselves too seriously while pursuing the art.
Legendary producer 9th Wonder gives you a beautiful track to play around with “In your Mind”, whereas this chaotic duo don’t have to think about the natural flow of the song. They double down on how the lyrics go, leading to one of my favourite tracks on the album. Samples have the R&B and soul touches that change the temperature of the album. An ability to sing and switch back to rap adds a lot of flair to songs where Cordae can do more surgical verse writing. A multi-instrumentalist and talented musician like Anderson .Paak goes unnoticed for the kind of impact he can have on a song and album, and versatility makes all the difference.
When the collaborations count
Talk about a standout with “Crown”. Produced by legendary Conductor Williams, both enter the conversation from the opening, brilliantly bouncing lines off. I love how the entire album counteracts the heavy moments (going drunk to your kids’ birthday party) with the humour of it. It’s true what they say: tragedy + time = comedy. The drum work on days like this shows the soulful range and Yussef Dayes-like fills and grooves that Anderson .Paak can achieve whenever he so desires. After this treat of a song, you get a double whammy with “Karma Tax”, something that J. Cole has produced. You can definitely also hear the footprint of the inspiring hip hop artist in that track.
A duo that deserve a return
Ranging from jazzy, true old-school hip hop, soul, and even a little bit of pop when needed, Cordae and Paak have taken their chemistry to a whole new level. They are in touch with meme culture, how society now listens to records, and how differences between us can be the greatest artistic grit. Swizz Beatz produces the closing “Godfather II”. It’s a big splash they close with, and the album has a great mix of everything you’d want to hear in an avant-garde approach to such eclectic performers. Can’t wait to hear live versions of this on tour. Like they say in the first verse of the last track- “My God, they all killers, sharp as the barbed wire”.
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
