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Naomi Osaka is back on the court after welcoming her daughter, Shai, into the world in July 2023 with her boyfriend, Cordae. The couple has been dating since 2019 and although he didn’t know she was a tennis star, he has been in her corner on and off the court ever since. So who is the rapper? Here’s everything you need to know.
He’s a GRAMMY Award-nominated artist
Cordae, whose full name is Cordae Amari Dunston, was born on August 26, 1997, in North Carolina, but he was mainly raised in Suitland, Maryland. The 26-year-old rapper was known as YBN Cordae from his time in the hip-hop collective YBN, but when the group disbanded in 2020, he dropped the YBN.
His debut studio album, “The Lost Boy” (2019), earned him two Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for “Bad Idea” featuring Chance the Rapper. He released his second album, “From a Bird’s Eye View,” in 2022, which made its way near the top of the Billboard 200.
His rap career became his focus in 2018, but he was always interested in music. When he was a teenager, he released three mixtapes under the name Entendre, one of which, “Anxiety” (2014), was released while he was still in high school.
He dropped out of college to pursue music
After graduating high school in 2015, he went to Towson University before dropping out in 2018. He told Elevator Magazine he went to college to make his parents happy. “I was in college to get out of my hood and to keep my folks happy. I would’ve been a first-generation graduate because my Mom never graduated, and my Dad had only gotten his GED from inside of jail. Going to college was something bigger than me; it was for my Mom,” he told the outlet. Cordae moved to Los Angeles right after and released his first single that year.
He’s an activist
The singer has used his platform for things important to him. In 2016, he participated in a Black Lives Matter protest, and 2020, he was arrested at a Breonna Taylor protest in Louisville, Kentucky, along with football star Kenny Stills. When he watched Osaka at the 2020 US Open women’s singles, he wore a defund the police t-shirt.
Osaka credits him for helping her win the 2020 US Open
Cordae has been a supportive person in her career, and Osaka said he helped her win the 2020 US Open. When her father couldn’t make it to the competition, the Grammy-nominated artist flew out to support her, “I feel like he actually really helped me win just, like, keeping up the motivation,” she said.
He didn’t know Osaka was a tennis star
From their GQ cover, Cordae and Naomi exchanged phone numbers, and after some back-and-forth, they planned their first date at the Staples Center for a Clippers game.
He told the outlet he didn’t know Osaka was a tennis player at the time, “It’s not my sport. If you asked me about tennis, before being immersed in it because of Naomi, I could only give you Venus and Serena Williams, you know? Because they’re just a part of the culture.”