YBN Cordae may be on the younger end of the XXL Freshman spectrum this year, but he’s already become a favorite of veteran rappers like Anderson .Paak and their fans for his humble acknowledgement of the pioneers who paved the way. In his latest video, Cordae takes his reverence for the old school one step further, paying homage to legends of NYC basketball lore with a comedic take on classic streetball tournaments and Blaxploitation movies in the video for “RNP” featuring the aforementioned Anderson .Paak.
While “RNP” was already a fun, funky song that saw the two rappers trading lighthearted, intergenerational bars about their respective “rich n**** problems,” the video allows them to play on the song’s clear references to the 1970s by adopting the personas of “Big Play” Cordae and “Sweet Shot” Anderson. The nicknames riff on similar sobriquets from basketball stars of the era like “Pistol” Pete Maravich and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, while scenes throughout the video see Cordae and .Paak rocking afro wigs and furs in homage to Blaxploitation action movies like Shaft and Superfly. The narrative tracks the duo as they dodge gangsters on their way to a basketball tournament, where they show up just in time to save their team from defeat with some fancy moves and deadeye shooting.
“RNP” is the fourth single from YBN Cordae’s debut album, The Lost Boy, after “Have Mercy” (which received a dual video treatment), “Bad Idea,” and “Broke As F*ck.” It’s out now via Atlantic Records.
YBN Cordae is a Warner Music artist. .
