Anderson .Paak and Cordae release their joint album Heavy Is the Crown

Anderson .Paak and Cordae have turned years of collaboration into a full album. Heavy Is the Crown was released on Friday, 23 October 2026, two months after the pair announced it in August. A partnership years in the making The two first connected on Cordae's RNP, and went on to record Two Tens and Summer Drop together. J. Cole produced RNP and Two Tens, and he returns on the new project. Other contributors include 9th Wonder, Conductor Williams and Swizz Beatz. The album was inspired by the friendship between the two artists and, unexpectedly, by the cult comedy Step Brothers, which hints at the playful energy that runs through their earlier songs together. Why it matters Anderson .Paak is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation, a singer, rapper, drummer and producer who has won Grammys both on his own and as half of Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars. Cordae is one of rap's sharpest young lyricists. Together they blend live-band funk and soul with lyric-heavy hip-hop. Heavy Is the Crown is one of the biggest releases of a busy New Music Friday that also brought new albums from John Legend, LISA and Michael Kiwanuka, and the 20th anniversary edition of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.