Early Thursday morning, on April 23, rapper Cordae Amari Dunston, better known as Cordae, released his freshmen EP, “Just Until….” The EP is appropriately titled, as Dunston announced on both the cover art and on his Twitter that this EP was a starter in anticipation for his upcoming full-length studio album. 

The EP provides much needed respite from Dunston’s nearly two year long project drought, however limited in quantity the release may be. Clocking in at just under 12 minutes, “Just Until….” consists of four songs, two of them with features from Q-Tip and Young Thug. The EP makes good use of its short runtime however, and listens much more like a diary, updating listeners on the recent thoughts and happenings in Duston’s life.

The opening track, “More Life,” featuring rapper Q-Tip (real name Kamaal Ibn John Fareed), is a mixed bag. The jazz-rap production, undertaken by Fareed, is superb with a bright and lethargic energy induced by the soft piano and synth melody, but Fareed’s vocal performance on the song leaves much to be desired. The contrast between Fareed’s muffled and off-beat chorus and Dunston’s bold verses is jarring, and while Dunston’s vocals match the sparse percussion, Fareed struggles to compete and is drowned out by the instrumental. 

However, where the track draws listeners in is through its introspective lyrical material. Dunston contemplates his place in both the rap industry and the greater universe, elaborating on how these questions have been on his mind since the release of his last studio album. While at times his musings sound preachy or sanctimonious, this issue is uncommon enough that listeners won’t be too bothered by it. Regardless, the track still serves its purpose as a decent opening track.

The following track, “Dream in Color,” is an improvement upon the jazz-rap fusion heard in “More Life,” with a similarly bright yet more fast-paced instrumental and airy humming as backing. “Dream in Color” also sports a pleasant chorus which boasts Dunston’s singsong vocals. Dunston’s vocal prowess continues to shine moving into the two verses, where he rides the punchy beat perfectly. Lyrically, he simultaneously shows off in great detail his recent accomplishments and vents about issues that persist in his life despite the fame and success, such as the paranoia of insincere relationships.

“Wassup,” features rapper Young Thug (real name Jefferey Lamar Williams) and is by far the least interesting song on the EP. The instrumental bears the brunt of the blame, as producer duo Take a Daytrip (real names Denzel Baptiste and David Biral) provide a generic trap beat for Dunston and Williams to rap over. From beginning to end, the instrumental feels like a stalling engine that is never able to make it out of the driveway, with the beat building anticipation for almost three minutes but never evolving or releasing the built up tension. This contributes to the muted vocal performance from both Williams and Dunston, as while they exhibit a fair bit of chemistry on the mic, a higher energy beat would’ve been better suited for both of their bold and often abrasive vocal styles. Even the lyrical content is lacking, as the song embodies the typical nondescript rap braggadocio, and strays from the introspective nature of the rest of the EP.

The closing track “Thornton Street” is the most complete song on the project. It returns to the warm and jazzy aesthetic of the first couple of tracks on the EP. The charm of the track comes with its lyrics, with the song being structured like a letter to various members of Dunston’s family. Dunston discusses the admiration he has for his teen mother who struggled to support him, as well as experiences with his in-and-out father. Listeners have a limited amount of information regarding the relations between Dunston and the family members he addresses the song to, which not only makes the song feel more personal to Dunston’s struggles within these relationships, but because Dunston omits the finer details specific to his own life, listeners are better able to relate to these conflicts. That being said, the track still gives off the impression that Dunston wrote it more for himself to find closure rather than to appeal to his audience and create a sense of cathartic relatability. Regardless, “Thornton Street” ends the EP on a high, and leaves listeners with more questions about Dunston’s experiences that they may find answers to in his upcoming project.

Overall, the autobiographical approach to the EP is the saving grace of the project, as there doesn’t seem to be much in feature strength or vocal delivery that particularly stands out across the album. The instrumentals are generally solid and follow a mellow and jazzy style that pairs well with the meditative lyrics. Most importantly however, the EP manages to avoid the all too common mistake of being unnecessarily long, or being too ambitious in concept, and instead settles for a modest yet pleasant four tracks showcasing Dunston’s meandering thoughts during his artistic downtime.

3 out of 5