Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has a boyfriend who's also at the top of his game -- the rap game,
that is. Like in any great relationship, the young power couple appears to be full
of affection and support for the other. Here's the truth about Naomi Osaka's boyfriend, Cordae.
Cordae is considered exceptional among the rising cohort of rappers for his encyclopedic knowledge
of vintage music, according to Complex. But his knowledge of tennis is another matter,
as he confessed in an interview with "Ebro in the Morning" after revealing
he and Naomi Osaka first saw each other at a Los Angeles Clippers basketball game.
"Are you a tennis fan?"
"Uh, nah I didn't even, like, know who she was."
He may not be a huge tennis follower, but he's become Osaka's biggest and most loyal fan,
cheering for her enthusiastically at the U.S. Open, and accompanying her to the 2021
ESPY Awards. And when she made her controversial decision to back out
of the 2021 French Open, he was quick to have her back.
When Cordae disclosed his relationship with Naomi Osaka to "Ebro in the Morning," he
shared another confession as well: Their relationship was not new, as the couple
had been dating for close to a year. It wasn't exactly a secret — as TMZ Sports noted in 2019,
he'd made a brief appearance in video on Osaka's Instagram account.
But by the time Cordae appeared on "Ebro in the Morning," they had been
an established couple for some time, as he said -
"We kept it hidden — I don't like to go too public with my personal life."
By the end of 2020, the pair started appearing together in public,
according to Women's Health – and their mutual affection was obvious.
When it comes to his relationship with Naomi Osaka,
one especially memorable move on Cordae's part was his surprise visit to be by her side
during the 2020 U.S. Open. While waiting in quarantine before the tournament,
she mentioned during a FaceTime conversation with him that she was feeling unhappy and lonely.
Cordae didn't just offer up comforting words. Unknown to her, he quickly flew
out to the U.S. Open and quarantined himself in a hotel for several days
so he could be with her and offer moral support during the match, a move that touched her deeply,
though she still gave him a playful jab, saying in an Instagram post -
"The funniest part is even after doing all this
I'm still convinced he doesn't understand the rules of tennis."
While Cordae's music could be described as being more lighthearted in nature,
he sees it as an instrument of change, telling GQ -
"As artists we are the gatekeepers of time. We do have some sort of responsibility to speak
on the times and things that are going on. And it is a responsibility to speak on the things
that are affecting you in the community, because that's what we have: a voice."
He credits his mother for helping him develop his social consciousness, saying -
"I was always reading Harry Potter books. And my mom was like, 'If you
can read a 500-page Harry Potter book, then you can read about your people.'"
So with that, he told GQ, at the age of 10 he began reading "The Souls of Black Folk"
and biographies about influential members of the Black community.
In fact, the lessons he learned have stuck with him and inform his musical voice today.
While he succeeded in making a name for himself at an early age,
Cordae has also stayed grounded and goal-driven, and, as he told GQ,
is more interested in continuing to develop his talents and career, saying -
"I live well below my means. I don't own any jewelry. I'm always looking for what's next,
you know? Keep tunnel vision to keep pushing, but my gratitude is the highest. I'm blessed."
He went on to add -
"One of my biggest blessings is I do what I love for a living full time."
He also added that he does spend money on, quote, "conveniences," and, fortunately,
his success means that these can include traveling with his girlfriend to her matches.
If you're dating a musician, there can be few higher honors than being celebrated in
their songs. While Cordae generally likes to keep quiet about the details of his love life,
he's not afraid to give Naomi Osaka the occasional affectionate shout-out in his music,
referencing her in his songs "More Life" and "Dream in Color".
It's clear from Cordae's shout-outs about his girlfriend in his music that he's in
it for the long haul, which might lead to a few more references as his career goes on.
Neither Cordae or Naomi shy away from hot-button social issues, as both
are vocal advocates for the Black Lives Matter movement. As Marie Claire reported,
while Osaka got tongues wagging at the 2020 U.S. Open for her face masks bearing the
names of Black Americans killed in police confrontations, Cordae cheered her on from
the stands while wearing a T-shirt reading, quote, "Defund the police."
His commitment to social issues also drives his approach to music.
As Complex reported, he has developed a reputation for transcending the longstanding
generational divide in the hip-hop community,
embracing both the genre's pioneers and newcomers. This is, as he said, by intention, adding -
"We all go through the same struggles and we're all under the same oppressors."
Cordae is willing to put himself on the line to be one of those guiding forces. In 2020,
Complex reported that he was arrested at a protest calling
for the arrest of the police officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death.
When it comes to his music, Cordae sets high standards for himself. As he told
"Ebro in the Morning," he has a hand in every detail of his music production,
so it's not easy for him to show off his work before it's polished to his standards. But,
as Naomi told GQ, she eventually gained enough of his trust to be granted the
right to listen to his works in progress, telling the magazine -
"He had to warm up to me. Eventually he let me listen to his music,
which I feel really grateful and honored about, to be honest. He's a perfectionist,
and I think that's sort of what I am too. So maybe that's why we get along."
For his part, Cordae respects her musical sensibilities, telling GQ -
"She has a good ear. I don't really trust too many people's ear like that."
But, he added, both know to stay in their lanes — she's never suggested
any changes to his recordings, and vice-versa for him, as he said -
"I don't tell her how to swing. It's a mutual respect."
Cordae's dedication to his craft has paid off not just in fan support, but in critical recognition:
He earned two Grammy nominations in 2019: one for best rap song for "Bad Idea" and
another for best rap album for "The Lost Boy". Earning these nods meant a lot to him — shortly
after hearing about the nominations, he posted a video of himself weeping in joy at the news.
While Cordae was overjoyed, he told the Associated Press that he wasn't
entirely surprised — winning a Grammy had been a long-term goal for him, saying -
"In that moment, it wasn't like the nominations came as a surprise.
I had that energy when I was creating this body of work."
So dedicated was Cordae to this goal that he'd created a vision board of himself holding a
Grammy, even using the image as the home screen on his phone. And, as he told the Associated Press,
he declined an invitation to attend the Grammys the year before, saying -
"'I'm going to wait until next year when I'm nominated for something.'
Literally, I said that verbatim."
Rappers have a reputation in some circles as tough guys, and they're unlikely to show a soft
side in public. Cordae doesn't consider himself one of those guys, telling the Associated Press -
"I don't try to portray some lifestyle that I'm not living.
I'm not the hardest [man] walking around,"
"Look at my face - I ain't gonna lie my skin jaw like lookin' sweet in this jump though!"
Instead, he chooses to stay grounded and close to his roots — which means staying close to
his family and playing by their rules when he visits. And, for him, this means sleeping on the
couch at his mom's house and doing his share of household chores while he's there, telling GQ -
"I'm the man of the house. Because it was me, my grandma, my aunt, and my mom all in a house."
As he told GQ, he appreciates that his mother doesn't allow his success go
to his head — but he's also grateful to be able to
simply hire a maid when she starts pestering him to clean her house.
Cordae deserves props for a highly underrated talent: He knows what he doesn't know. In
his interview with "Ebro in the Morning," he modestly called himself a student of hip-hop,
saying he was always learning. He brings this open-minded curiosity to the rest of
his life as well and appreciates that Naomi Osaka shares these traits, telling GQ -
"I can't really be with someone who doesn't have any substance
or doesn't act or think on the same frequency and wavelength as I do."
He also appreciates the new perspectives that Osaka has opened up in his life.
Growing up in predominantly Black urban communities, he knew little about other cultures,
and, for him, Osaka's cultural background and experiences living around the world
opened a new and fascinating window on the world, as he said -
"Naomi was born in Japan. So she has a very worldly perspective.
I've only been traveling the world the last two years. We'd be recommending each other
books and movies all the time. So, you know, just always feeding the brain."
As a lifelong lover and student of music,
Cordae grew up absorbing the early rap his father played, telling Complex that from a
young age he was listening to rappers such as Nas and Eric B & Rakim, before adding -
"And of course he would play us Tupac and Biggie in the car."
As he told Complex, he was so inspired by this music that he began researching it on his own
to understand how it was made. The music he enjoys isn't limited to hip-hop — as he told GQ,
some of his favorite classic artists include Stevie Wonder and Chuck Berry.
And, just as Naomi Osaka introduced Cordae to global cultures,
he's been helping her build her musical knowledge, with Osaka telling GQ -
"Growing up, I feel like I just heard the hits, you know what I mean?
It's a really interesting thing about him. He knows the whole catalog of everyone."
So, while Cordae admires Osaka for opening his eyes to more of the world, the feeling is mutual,
as Seventeen reported that she wrote a birthday message to him saying -
"I always feel so lucky to be in your life and to be continuously learning from you."
Cordae's introduction to the world of tennis was a dive into the deep end.
For one, he found that just watching elite tennis matches was a bit daunting. The very first tennis
match Cordae ever attended was the 2019 U.S. Open, and, for him, it was an alien experience.
He noted to GQ that he had gone to schools with predominantly Black student bodies, adding -
"I felt really out of place. Like,
that was my first time being in an environment like that in my entire life."
Still, this didn't stop him from attending more
of Osaka's matches — and being her most enthusiastic fan in attendance.
"I was like 'Yo she gotta win today', this is my first time attending the match.
Because if she lose, I was like 'Everybody gonna look at me like, 'Don't come to no more matches.'"
As their relationship has become more established, Naomi Osaka and Cordae have made
more high-profile public appearances together. Their most glamorous joint appearance yet was
at the 2021 Met Gala. Since Osaka was one of the co-chairs of the event this
year it was pretty much inevitable that Cordae would be at her side.
At the Met Gala, fabulous fashion is a must, and Osaka and Cordae didn't disappoint:
She commissioned a dramatic dress and ruffled cape jointly designed
by Louis Vuitton, while Cordae brought a lower-drama but distinctive look,
featuring a khaki trench coat by Coach, black slacks, and hand-crafted black penny loafers.
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