Cordae, a DMV rapper, has been hard at work on the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated debut album The Lost Boy, but he’ll be taking a break next week to head to college — on his Kickin’ It With Cordae HBCU school tour, which he’ll be doing in collaboration with nonprofit Cxmmunity and Coca-Cola. He’ll be partaking in one of many college students’ favorite pastimes: gaming, in addition to debuting new music in live performances at each of the colleges in question.
Cordae will present a “Gaming, Music, And Conversations With Cordae” conversation as well as compete in games directly with students, thanks to a partnership with each school’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference eSports team. It’s a clever nod to his meteoric ascent to stardom, which was aided by his involvement with the YBN team, which began as a bunch of online gamers who eventually chose to collaborate on music. It also fits in neatly with Cordae’s long-standing commitment in educational efforts, particularly those involving HBCUs.
Cordae teamed with Disney Dreamers Academy and ESPN’s The Undefeated earlier this summer to sponsor scholarships for HBCU students. Growing up in Suitland, Maryland, he was close to prestigious schools like Howard University (which is also one of his tour dates), which could have had a huge influence on him in instilling the value of knowledge.
