All good things come to an end. But in music, many movements fizzle out before truly reaching its full potential. In the eyes of rap fans, YBN (comprised of Cordae, Almighty Jay and Nahmir) was one of those collectives.
Although YBN split over five years ago, the reasoning was never explicitly stated–until now. During a sit down with content creator Peaks100 (viewable here), Cordae opened up about what caused its dismantling.
“It was a number of reasons, bro,” he said. “Like, groups, unfortunately…name one group that stayed together. Not even the Jackson 5 and them n****s are brothers… [Wu-Tang Clan] all went and did solo sh*t, though.”
According to Cordae, the group wasn’t one the same page when it came to joint releases, behind-the-scenes dealings, and eventually that led to internal tension.
“We never recorded a song with all three of us,” he said. “The business side of it was kinda like super f*cked up, honestly. N****s got into a big argument in f*cking Europe. People say certain things that they can’t take back.”
Despite it all, Cordae claims that he doesn’t harbor any ill will towards his former group mates.
“It’s still love, but it’s still some sh*t you just can’t take [back],” he said. “You know what I’m saying? Namir, that’s still my homie, like, sh*t. Jay, I still f*ck with bruh.”
Cordae handled the split with ease releasing several projects (including his recent album The Crossroads) and multiple solo tours.
The Crossroads is out now via Atlantic Records. Find more information here.