Among the many impressive collaborators that Cordae was able to secure for his upcoming album From A Bird’s Eye View, there’s one that stands out among the rest. Sure, he reunites with Eminem after their “Killer” remix, as well as Freddie Gibbs and Nas for a redux of their chemistry on Nas’ “Life Is Like A Dice Game.” However, the truly mind-blowing connection is the 24-year-old rapper’s pairing with the musical legend Stevie Wonder, who was making hits when the rest were all still in diapers.
And while Stevie’s appearance on FABEV is another reunion for Cordae after he appeared on Wonder’s 2020 track “Can’t Put It In The Hands Of Fate,” there’s apparently still a lot of pressure inherent to working with the man who made Innervisions — as evidenced by a hilarious story Cordae told The Breakfast Club during his appearance on the New York radio show to promote the new album. Not wanting to let Stevie down during a midnight FaceTime call, he fudged the truth when relaying his whereabouts to the soul icon.
“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,” Cordae says. “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.“I’m like, ‘Who the f*ck is this?’ 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.”
And so, knowing there was little likelihood of being caught in this particular white lie for … ahem… obvious reasons, Cordae told Stevie Wonder he was actually at the studio rather than getting some sleep. “I’m looking at this man, dead in his face, talking ’bout some… I’m laying down like, ‘Yeah, I’m in the studio.’”
Of course, there’s clearly no concern now about Stevie finding out, which he’d probably find pretty funny anyway. And the results of their work together will speak for themselves this Friday, January 14, when From A Bird’s Eye View via on Atlantic.
Check out Cordae’s full Breakfast Club interview above.