Naomi Osaka and Cordae have largely kept the details of their breakup private since announcing their separation in January 2025. Now, the rapper is sharing a deeply personal perspective on what life has looked like since they went their separate ways.
And his latest lyrics reveal just how much their relationship continues to weigh on him.
Cordae, 29, addresses the challenges of co-parenting their 3-year-old daughter, Shai, on "Helpless," a track from his newly released collaborative album with Anderson .Paak, "Heavy Is the Crown."
The song finds the musician reflecting on the family life he once envisioned, the reality of raising his daughter in separate households and his own regrets about the relationship.
But amid those reflections, Cordae also drops a surprising detail that appears to suggest he's preparing to become a father again.
Cordae Opens Up About Naomi Osaka Split in Emotional New Song
On "Helpless," Cordae appears to acknowledge that raising Shai separately from Osaka wasn't the future he had imagined for their family.
The rapper also suggests that another child may be on the way, although he has not publicly confirmed a pregnancy or identified the child's mother.
His lyrics offer a more vulnerable look at the breakup than fans have previously heard from him, including an acknowledgment that he made mistakes during the relationship.
The song is particularly notable because Osaka and Cordae have generally avoided publicly discussing what went wrong between them.
Rather than presenting their separation as a bitter falling-out, Osaka previously made a point of speaking warmly about her former partner.
Cordae's latest release offers a different perspective: one that recognizes the emotional difficulty of their new family arrangement without necessarily contradicting the respectful relationship Osaka has described.
What Naomi Osaka Previously Said About Their Breakup
Osaka and Cordae began dating in 2019 after meeting at a Los Angeles Clippers game. Their relationship eventually became one of the more recognizable pairings between professional sports and the music industry.
In January 2023, the four-time Grand Slam champion announced she was expecting their first child. The couple welcomed Shai that July.
But in January 2025, Osaka confirmed that their romantic relationship had ended.
"Hi everyone, just wanted to say that Cordae and I are no longer in a relationship," she wrote on Instagram at the time.
She also made it clear that there was no public feud between them, describing Cordae as a great person and an involved father.
Nearly two years later, Cordae's new music suggests the breakup remains an emotional subject for him.
Interestingly, Osaka has also shown public support for his latest project. According to the Daily Mail, the tennis star liked a social media post promoting his new album with Anderson .Paak.
That small gesture doesn't reveal anything about their private co-parenting arrangement, but it does fit with the respectful tone Osaka established when she first announced their separation.
For Cordae, "Helpless" is an unusually personal glimpse into a chapter of his life that fans have mostly watched from a distance.
And while the lyrics leave some questions unanswered, they make one thing clear: becoming parents changed the relationship between Osaka and Cordae in ways that continue to shape their lives long after their romance ended.
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