Who Are Cordae’s Parents? The Rapper’s Mother Auditioned for ‘American Idol'
Cordae's included his mother, a former singer, in his 'Tiny Desk' performance in March 2025.
Published March 20 2025, 4:33 p.m. ET
Rapper Cordae is at the top of his music career. Since starting in the music scene as a teenager, the Raleigh, N.C. native ensures he never forgets where he came from. And, with Cordae being a father himself, he seemingly understands the importance of giving back to the people who were in your corner before you blew up.
During the rapper's first Tiny Desk performance, he shared the moment with his mother, who had ambitions of becoming a famous singer herself. Keep reading to learn more about Cordae's parents and how his work made their dreams come true.
Who are Cordae's parents?
Cordae has used his music to discuss his relationship with his mom and dad. His song, "Family Matters," specifically, focuses on the rapper's strained relationship with his father, who he has said was incarcerated and out of the picture at many times in his life. Cordae has also reflected on his mother, Jennifer Dunston's journey to finding her own big break. In his 2024 song, "06 Dreamin'," he reflected on how his mother put herself out there for many auditions but ended up not being able to land her big break.
"Ayo, my mom had once tried out for American Idol, I was eight years old, back home, feelin' entitled," he says in the song from his album, The Crossroads. "Went to school the next day, eyes gleamin' with hope. Plottin' on the J's I'd get when she finally blows."
Cordae went on to share in the song that Jennifer also auditioned for Making The Band, which eagle-eyed Reddit fans shared a clip of her performing on the MTV show. While she didn't make the cut, she was instrumental in her son's musical ventures.
During Cordae's Tiny Desk in March 2025, he played "06 Dreamin" in front of the NPR show's audience. As he continued through the song, he told the audience the song was a sample of a song his mother wrote when she was an inspiring singer. After performing the song, he asked Jennifer to sing her original song onstage.
"It's a story of irony, it's a story about my mom," Cordae explained. "A true story of how she was an aspiring singer and she just never got her big break to make it. Ironically enough ... she's living that dream through me because I'm here with y'all. I ended up sampling one of her old songs to make this song. But like I said, we back home, man. I don't got to use the sample, we got the real thing here today."
After his mother's performance, Cordae told her "thank you mom for blessing me" then joked that her "invoice is on the way." We love to see that he was definitely raised right!