Cordae set to release third studio album ‘The Crossroads’ this Friday - Everything we know

Cordae Amari Brooks is gearing up for the release of his third studio album, The Crossroads, which is currently scheduled to be delivered to streaming platforms this Friday (November 15).

The album was first announced back in October and has since been supported by the release of four lead singles, as well as a full-length trailer uploaded to the rapper's YouTube channel on October 24, 2024.

Earlier this week, Brooks took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal the artwork for his upcoming album as well as the official tracklist.

"THE CROSSROADS OFFICIAL COVER ART AND TRACKLIST. DROPS THIS FRIDAY" - Cordae tweeted.

According to his tweet, The Crossroads will include 16 full-length records with featured appearances from Ty Dolla $ign, Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West), Anderson .Paak, Lil Wayne, and more. The complete tracklist for Brooks' upcoming album has been provided below:

1. INTRO
2. 06 DREAMIN
3. BACK ON THE ROAD (feat. Lil Wayne)
4. SUMMER DROP (feat. Anderson .Paak)
5. NOTHINGS PROMISED
6. MAD AS FUCK
7. ALL ALONE
8. NEVA SEE IT (feat. Juicy J)
9. PRAY (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
10. DON'T WALK AWAY (feat. Jordan Ward and Ravyn Lenae)
11. SATURDAY MORNINGS (feat. Lil Wayne)
12. NO BAD SH*T (feat. Ye)
13. SHAI AFENI
14. WHAT REALLY MATTERS
15. SYRUP SANDWICHES (feat. Joey Bada$$)
16. NOW YOU KNOW

The official cover art for Cordae's third studio album 'The Crossroads' releasing to streaming services on November 15, 2024 (Image via X/@cordae)

In a recent interview with Billboard, Cordae explained his reasoning behind the title "The Crossroads", stating:

"I felt like I was at a crossroads in my life. It was like life or death. If I go right, everything is gonna be perfect and yay, life is great, and if I go left, all life is horrible. I’ve kinda realized that one decision doesn’t hold that much weight. It’s a culmination of decisions."

---

"I don’t give 1 f**k about a first week sale" - Cordae discusses album sale metrics in an X thread

Today (November 13), Cordae Amari Brooks took to X to share his thoughts and opinions over critics within the music industry and hip-hop community basing a project's success on its "first-week sales".

Uproxx magazine reportedly notes a growing trend of hip-hop artists being "shamed" over weak album sales, streaming metrics, and chart placements.

Brooks seemingly addressed this situation by claiming these metrics are an "inaccurate way" of judging the success of a project, explaining:

"Want to say this now I don’t give 1 f**k about a first week sale. It’s a very inaccurate way to calculate impact, especially with the current streaming metrics. I seen somebody do 11K first week and then do a ARENA TOUR off the same album."

The rapper went on to draw comparisons between today's "Streaming Era" and the "Physical CD/Vinyl Era," citing the importance of how music consumption was accurately assessed over 30 years ago.

Magazines like Billboard and Chart data report that 1500 streams equate to one album-equivalent unit.

This metric does differ on streaming platforms, with Apple Music and Spotify adopting a measurement that tracks sales based on paying members (1,250 streams equating to one AEU) and free users (3,750 equating to one AEU).

"In the 90/2000s music was consumed by people actually going to the stores and buying albums. When you did 100K first week that meant 100 thousand people went and bought the cd. Now you can have 300,000 people Listening to your album on streaming, and the units Equivalent is 200" - Cordae stated.

Cordae performs during Laneway Festival on February 10, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Naomi Rahim/WireImage)

Brooks proceeded to address internet personalities and podcasters within the music industry, who've critiqued an album because of sales metrics. The rapper claims their statements were made without any credibility, stating their opinions are not based on "proper research".

"I hate that artist even have to speak on sh*t like this but it’s way too many idiot podcasters and n****s with platforms that’s speaking on music subjects without any proper research, knowledge, or credible sources. Just a bunch of HOT TAKES and opinions with no real research."

---

Cordae's The Crossroads will officially follow up on 2022's sophomore studio album From a Birds Eye View, which debuted at No.20 on Billboard's album charts.