"They Don't Make 'Em Like Us"—Anderson. Paak and Cordae Share the Throne In 'Heavy Is The Crown'
What happens when Anderson .Paak and Cordae get free rein in the studio, this time for a full album? The duo answer with 11 tracks of quick-fire wit, name-dropping and candid lyricism, with a few hard truths in between. We unpack Heavy Is The Crown, from the opening call to the closing declaration.
Cordae and Anderson .Paak in 2026. Image property of Kaito.
"Who the fuck is this?" asks a confused Cordae over a smooth elevator-music-meets-trap beat, interwoven with sounds of car horns and the buzz of a ringing phone. Immediate lyrical scene-setting and storytelling ensues before Anderson. Paak responds in frenzied tones through a muffled telephone line, trapped in a closet after a romantic escapade turned sour.
This is the playful opener of Heavy Is The Crown, the 11-track album curated by industry brothers Anderson. Paak and Cordae—a cohesive and fun collection of warm hip-hop offerings, stitched together with soul and wit. The lyrics of this opening track, "58th Floor", boldly declare what A.P. and Cordae already know: "They don't make 'em like us, most certainly." With production credits including, J. Cole, Swizz Beatz and 9th Wonder, this is a true collaborative triumph.
Embracing the theme of brotherhood that runs through the project, the album's cover art pays homage to a comedy classic—the double act are emulating the 2008 Step Brothers movie poster, giving Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly a melanated run for their money. Pair the duo's perfect comedic timing with their brazen approach to spotlighting important current affairs and this sets a clear precedent for what to expect.
The LP sees the minds of two creative giants come together. Take nine-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, the Californian creative wizard, still riding high off the lasting magic of his 2024 album Why Lawd? (under his NxWorries project with producer Knxwledge), and his film directorial debut K-POPS. An inimitable producer and coveted collaborator at heart—most famously, one half of Silk Sonic—.Paak's prowess is often multiplied alongside the talent of others.
Enter Cordae, the North Carolina native whose 2019 debut Grammy-nominated album, The Lost Boy, made waves. Since then, he's proven himself as a key player in the world of contemporary rap, picking up an Emmy along the way.
We've seen what Cordae and Anderson .Paak can do when they create together. There's the rip-roaring "RNP" at the peak of their collaborative legacy, not to mention the smooth "Two Tens" and sun-soaked "Summer Drop"—two standouts from Cordae's 2024 album, The Crossroads. Returning for Heavy Is The Crown, it's no surprise that they sound this comfortable together. With two equally outspoken artists sharing free rein and creative control, it's safe to say, as declared in the lyrics of the closing track "Godfather II": "What [we're] witnessing is greatness".
The lead single, "A Good Day", landed mid-September and set the tone. A comedic trailer came first, then a video directed by Dave Meyers and starring Jennifer Freeman, an ode to the 1995 cult classic film Friday. The track fuses Bill Withers' 1977 soul anthem "Lovely Day" with the hypeman ad-libs of the late Fatman Scoop, lifted from Mariah Carey's "It's Like That", itself built on Run-DMC's "Hollis Crew". With nods to Nas and Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" in there too, the track wears its hip-hop lineage proudly.
The album is cohesive and dynamic at the same time. There are tracks boasting brazen energy, like "Airbender" with its perilous flows and playful name drops, alongside the smooth bounce of "Karma Tax" and the precocious, hard-headed aura of "I'm On" and "Days Like This".
The warmth of "You're Mine" complements the introspective tones of "Days Go By", a song that calls out the harsh truths of growing up Black in America. A looped melody and relaxed drum pattern soundtrack introspective bars which, in Cordae's verse, recall a murder scene near a local corner shop. The track ignites discussion about the rampant violence throughout the country, whilst Cordae and .Paak look back at their childhoods, poignantly describing themselves not as boys, but as "little [men] watching days go by."
Pitched-up gospel sonics kick off "Crown", with its strained violin underlying nostalgic lyrics about "matriarch heirlooms" and "pictures in the kitchen of Martin and Malcolm", punctuated with the repetitive chanting of the album's namesake, "Heavy is the crown". The latter segment of the song welcomes a jagged guitar strum that forces the monotone violin to a halt, with a following beat switch. The duo fire shots at the recent plush-crazed trend, stating "Take this Labubu and shoo shoo, you bore me", considering how their younger years were far superior.
A standout moment comes in the form of "Helpless". There's a deep vulnerability and maturity in the track, where both artists candidly spill their hearts and analyse their life choices. A.P. delves into "bad decisions", pain and heartbreak; Cordae explores fatherhood, broken homes and fractured goals, making direct reference to Jay Z's heartfelt rap classic "Song Cry" with his lyric, "Can't see it coming down my eyes so do it through this song." It's a sobering intermission amidst an album filled with sharp wit, name drops and lyrical sparring.
What better way to close out this triumphant joint album than with the opening declaration of "Godfather II": "Ladies and gentlemen, what you're witnessing is greatness". Through this body of work, Anderson. Paak and Cordae have joined forces once more, with poise and weight that only artistic royalty can carry.
8.0/10