Cordae

 ( 1997 Births ) 

Brooks became more interested in pursuing a rap career as he grew older. He prioritized his studies, but often became distracted by writing lyrics. He graduated from high school in 2015 and decided to attend college at Towson University. He dropped out in 2018, explaining that college was "bigger than him" as a first-generation student, and he was mainly doing it for his mother. He moved to Los Angeles shortly afterward.

Cordae began taking his rap career seriously in early 2018. When visiting Los Angeles, he hung around YBN Nahmir and YBN Almighty Jay, whom he'd met through social media. Nahmir had reached out to Cordae after hearing a song by Brooks, the only member of YBN who hadn't been introduced through video games. Cordae said he already felt like a part of YBN, and so changed from "Entendre" to "YBN Cordae". He also said that Entendre had been a name that he'd wanted to change for while: "I was just always around Nahmir and shit, those were just like my brothers... And, I was thinking, yo, I need to change my shit to like, Cordae, and shit, my actual first name. I was already "YBN" without the social tag".

In May 2018, Cordae released his first single, which he called his "introduction to the world": a remix of the 1999 song "My Name Is" by Eminem. He released the song along with a music video via WorldStarHipHop on YouTube. He then released "Old Niggas" as a response to "1985" by J. Cole, followed by the tracks "Fighting Temptations" and "Kung Fu".

In May 2018, Cordae made his debut live performance at the annual Rolling Loud music festival, where he performed with YBN Nahmir and YBN Almighty Jay. He performed with the duo again at the 2018 XXL Freshman Show in New York City, after Nahmir was announced as an inductee of the yearly freshman class. Brooks was then announced to be joining Juice Wrld on his North American WRLD Domination tour from May to September 2018, along with Lil Mosey and Blake, ended up reaching 28 cities.

Soon after, it was announced that the YBN collective would make a month-long tour in Europe. Brooks said he would release singles until his debut project was complete. On August 2, 2018, Nahmir and Cordae released a video for their single "Pain Away". On August 12, YBN Nahmir announced that an official YBN Mixtape featuring the trio would be released September 7, 2018. Cordae released the music video for his single, "Scotty Pippen", on August 23, 2018.

On January 28, 2019, Cordae released a music video for a new song, "Locationships", on his YouTube channel. In March, he released "Have Mercy", the lead single from his debut studio album, The Lost Boy. He was named as one of the members of XXL's "2019 Freshman Class" on June 20. Cordae released "Bad Idea" and "RNP" as the second and third singles from the album, and finally the album itself on July 26, 2019. The album landed YBN Cordae two nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards: Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for the single "Bad Idea". In November, YBN Cordae announced that he would be headlining "The Lost Boy in America Tour", which began in January 2020.

On April 22, 2021, Cordae released the EP Just Until..., featuring Q-Tip and Young Thug, in anticipation of his second studio album. On October 7, 2021, he released the single "Super".

Cordae released his second studio album, From a Birds Eye View, on January 14, 2022. The 14-song album features Eminem, Stevie Wonder, Gunna, and others. Cordae is featured by NF in the song "Careful", is the third song of the album Hope, released on April 7, 2023. This song reached the Billboard Hot 100 for a week and landed on position 85.

In July 2023, Cordae performed on the Lyrical Lemonade track "Doomsday" alongside the late rapper Juice Wrld; the song is the first single off the Lyrical Lemonade debut compilation album All Is Yellow (2024).

On November 15, 2024, Cordae released his third studio album, The Crossroads.

Respect Magazine opined in 2018 on Brooks' trajectory as a rapper. "He is a mix of the old and new school, and the deliverance and perception of his music sets himself apart from the new generation of rappers these days. We get a clear glimpse of this in his music videos for "Old N*ggas," 'My Name Is,' and 'Kung Fu,' which all have over 5 million views on YouTube. He is building a solid buzz for himself day by day, and letting the world know his bars and rhymes are ahead of his time. He has yet to drop a project proving such."

Revolt TV said in 2018, "There's always going to be artists who go against the grain and manage to generate conversation without being mundane or routine. Cordae is the result of perfect timing, a need for change and managing to bridge the gap between aesthetic and talent. He's the Gohan of the YBN collective, appearing docile and juvenile but displaying a 'mastery' over words that seems at odds with old-school "hip-hoppers" belief about his age group. It is yet to be seen if his talent warrants the praise he's receiving."

Cordae participated in a Black Lives Matter protest in 2016, rapping among the crowd about the struggles he faced, and the issues he'd been noticing in his community. In July 2020, Brooks was arrested at a Breonna Taylor protest in Louisville, Kentucky, along with American professional football player Kenny Stills. He wore a defund the police t-shirt while watching the 2020 US Open women's singles final.

He began dating tennis star Naomi Osaka in 2019, whom he met at a Los Angeles Clippers game. On January 11, 2023, they announced that they are expecting their first child. On July 7, 2023, the couple welcomed a baby girl.

In September 2024, Cordae revealed via his Instagram story that he legally changed his last name from Dunston to Brooks.

On January 6, 2025, Naomi Osaka announced she and Cordae were no longer in a relationship. Osaka stated there was "no bad blood" between the two and that Cordae is "a great person and an awesome dad".