“Despite the heaped praise he received for his navel-gazing publicity, few were clapping for his new music. As a teen rapping with a chip on his shoulder, Cordae had something to prove and so performed far beyond the expectations of his generation. By contrast, when you’re constantly told that you’re very talented and now see yourself as a more "meaningful" artist, there’s a vicious incentive structure towards laziness.“
Out now in The New York Sun: my piece on the decline of Cordae. Give it a read!