In the lead-up to the release of his new album From a Bird’s Eye View, Cordae stopped by the Breakfast Club to talk about how two of the biggest collabs on the record came together.
Stevie Wonder is among the artists featured on the record, and Cordae admitted that he decided to pretend he was already in the studio when he got the call from the legendary singer-songwriter. “We originally linked up, he reached out to me to get on a record of his like a couple of months ago called ‘Can’t Put it in the Hands of Fate,’” he said at the 23:45 part of the interview. “Let me tell y’all, he did FaceTime me…I got a hilarious Stevie Wonder story.”
The anecdote was about how Cordae’s song “Champagne Glasses” came together. “We linked up, we was working on records for four or five days in a row, and one time I’m in my room asleep and I’m laying down and he FaceTimes me,” he continued. “I one-eye answer, ’cause I saved his number as like Stevland Morris [because] that’s what he told me to save his number as.
Since he had just woken up, it took Cordae a moment to realize who was actually calling him. “I’m like, ‘Who the fuck is this?’” the 24-year-old said. “Then he called back again, I’m like, ‘Stevland Morris…oh! That’s Stevie.’ … It’s midnight, and he called me. I’m laying down in bed, I got my tank top on…and he was like, ‘What you doin?’ And it’s midnight, and I knew he was going to tell me to pull up to the studio, but I didn’t wanna tell him I’m laying in bed.”
Cordae opted instead to tell the 71-year-old he was busy working in the studio. “So I’m like, ‘Not much man, I’m chilling in the studio,’” he said. “But I’m looking at this man, dead in his face, talking ’bout some…I’m laying down like, ‘Yeah, I’m in the studio.’”
When they first got together in the studio, Cordae said, he almost doubted Wonder’s blindness because of how “adept” he is. “I didn’t believe he was blind, and then I almost tripped him up and I was like, ‘Oh he’s blind for real.’” He added that he was extremely appreciative of the opportunity to work with Wonder, who he called “one of one.”
The From a Bird’s Eye View artist also touched upon linking up with Lil Wayne. “Man, I admire his hunger,” said Cordae at the 6:00 point. “He’s just a killer, man. How in the world do you do music professionally for 20 years plus, and still have that hunger to approach features that way, still put out quality music at such a high rate?”
The two met on Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio podcast, and during their chat Weezy said he’d be more than happy to jump on a track with Cordae. “He was basically like, ‘Send me some open verse and I got you,’” he explained, noting it wasn’t until nearly a year later that he “took advantage of” the offer. “He gave me the verse back in like less than 24 hours, and it felt real good.”
Cordae also briefly opened up about dropping the “YBN” from his name following the dissolution of the group. “I can’t be out here talking to these kids and preaching ownership when I’m building up this brand I don’t have ownership in,” he said at 11:45 when asked why he dropped it from his stage name. “I talked to Nahmir about it, I didn’t really care what the world thought I just wanted bro’s blessing. … He gave it to me, that’s all that mattered to me.”
Watch the full Breakfast Club interview up top.
