Cordae talks about the surprising moment that Eminem contacted him for a collaboration

Over the last few years, Cordae has emerged as one of the best rappers of his generation. The 27-year-old is steadily climbing up the ranks to be recognized as one of the best emcees in the game. But there are quite a few legends that Cordae has already impressed with his pen, including Eminem.

Em has always had a special place in his hip-hop heart for real artists. He is not one to shy away from showing love to the new generation of artists who treat hip-hop with the same love as he does. Cordae fits perfectly into that bracket for him. Unsurprisingly, Em has been one of his biggest influences in music.

So, when he first got the call that Eminem wanted to collaborate with him, the 27-year-old was surprised. During a recent appearance on We Playin’ Spades with Courtney Bee and Nick Cannon, Cordae was asked by Cannon, “What’s the one feature that surprised you? Somebody that wanted to f**k with you, and you were like, ‘Word? I get to work with this person?’”

Instead of giving an answer directly, Cordae hesitated for a while, considering the history between Em and Cannon. He said, “Might not be saying it to the best person but Eminem.” Cannon immediately cleared the air, stating that he loves Eminem. Although they weren’t on good terms at one point, the 44-year-old has nothing but love for the Detroit rap legend.

“That was definitely surprising. He was showing me a bunch of love. That was super dope, getting that cosign," Cordae added. "He reached out. I had a phone conversation with him, and he was, like, ‘Yo, I think you’re dope. I want you on the song. We got to work. If you got something that you want me on, send it to me. I’ll send you some s**t, too.’ That’s how that ended up happening."

Their first collaboration was on Em’s "Killer (Remix)." The song also featured Jack Harlow, another good rapper who was inspired by Em. They worked again on "Parables (Remix)" from Cordae’s From a Birds Eye View album released in 2022.