Album Review - J.Cole - Born Sinner

J.cole has been one of those up and coming rappers for a few years now. His first album, the sideline story was decent but didn't legitimize some of the love and accolades he has received from a lot of people in my eyes. A capable rapper, something has seemed missing from his music. More recently, he has received promo for moving up his release date to coincide with that of Kanye West later this month. this is his chance to prove if he is worthy competition. Here is my album review of J.Cole's new album "Born Sinner".

The album starts off with "Villuminati" which features a hook with a biggie sample as Cole spits about his come up and some experiences including Beyonce telling him about a car he acknowledges is worth more than him. The single is the Miguel backed "Power Trip" about Cole being caught up in love. "Land of The Snales" has Cole rapping over the track which is basically Outkast's "Da Art of Storytelling" and it is just a bunch of rapping with no real point. The song "Trouble" has a Kanye type feel to it but it ever really describes any trouble that follows J.Cole so in the end it becomes a waste.



"Runaway" is about a man running away from his reality or avoiding sticking to his responsibility with his girl in the first verse and the third is actually pretty good as he goes on and talks about what he learned from a racist ex-manager that influenced him and what it made him think about historically. "She Knows" has a very catchy tune but his overall verses are uninspired and pointless luckily, it doesn't need anything else. "Rich Niggaz" has Cole talking about his animosity for his step-father and his jealousy about people with more money than him.



Kendrick Lamar shows up on "Forbidden Fruit" handling the hook and Cole drops his idea about coming out the same day as Kanye in one of his verses. "Chaining Day" is in the spirit of Kanye's "All Falls Down" as Jermaine mocks himself and talks about wasting money on iced out necklaces and Jesus pieces. TLC is the feature on "Crooked Smile" which is how Cole talks about keeping things real in his own way. One of the most creative songs is "Let Nas Down" where he talks about meeting Mr. Jones and finding out that he was disappointed by Nas' single and how he felt about finding out he had let his role model down. The album ends with "Born Sinner" which has James Fauntleroy on the chorus.

Number one, I hate when an artist puts out mixtapes or EP's better than their album and J.Cole did just that with the Truly Yours ep's though I wouldn't classify them as great. He has some production chops but this album is incredibly boring and when he can make a statement or really create some drama he fails to do so. The first album he whined about his father, this album it's all about the fact he's got money but not as much as a bunch of other people. The best song by far is "Let Nas Down" followed by "Power Trip. Too often his lyrics aren't cohesive and very simplistic in their subject matter. Too much talk of females overall. He has plenty of hardcore ardent fans, maybe this is what they like, but I don't see it. He demonstrates potential at times but doesn't fully deliver beyond a line here or there.

Rating: 2.5/5

Comments

  1. your article suck.. maybe you should learn more about real hip hop.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't wait for the album. I seriously hope it's worth more than a C+

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  3. Let me know if you think it is, but I am unimpressed with what Cole has put out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. http://www.missinfo.tv/index.php/watch-j-cole-performs-crooked-smile-and-more-in-l-a-video/#comment-617053 Read the comments from London S. he did a great job of breaking down the concept of Born Sinner, this is a horrible review. J.Cole album is dope

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I disagree and know of at least 3-4 people who agree with my take on this. It's ok, you want him to be a success I don't get it.

      Delete

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