YBN Cordae

The break-out star of the YBN rap collective, YBN Cordae made a name for himself via clever remixes of Eminem's "My Name Is" and J. Cole's "1985" that were posted on YouTube. His debut album, The Lost Boy, melds insightful lyrics with slick, decidedly old-school samples and ropes in features from the likes of Chance the Rapper, Anderson .Paak and Meek Mills. Listening to his earnest verses, its clear that Cordae is a scholar of early-aughts hip-hop, with a particular reverence for rappers like Talib Kweli, Black Thought and Mos Def who strive to make music with a message.