Fighter: J. Cole
Trainer (Gym): J. Cole, (Roc Nation, Columbia Records, Sony Music, Dreamville)
Cut Men: J. Cole, Christian Rich, DJ Dummy, Elite, Irvin Washington, Jake One, Ken Lewis, Nate Jones, Ron Gilmore, Syience
Weight Class: Lyrical Heavyweight/Rising Star
Notable Fire: Forbidden Fruit (Featuring Kendrick Lamar), LAnd Of The Snakes, Let Nas Down, Villuminati, Power Trip (Feat. Miguel), Miss America
Notable Trash: Ain’t That Some Shit
Tale of the Tape: The time is now for Jermaine Cole.
That much was made clear in our preview of the Summer in hip-hop piece. No artist was in a better position to “make the leap” to super-stardom more than J. Cole, IF he delivered on his sophomore album.
Last year, Kendrick Lamar “made the leap” and became a star. He basically hosted the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards, he was named the hottest rapper in the game by MTV and he’s performed at Hot 97’s Summer Jam, South By Southwest, Saturday Night Live, Coachella, Bonnarroo, ESPN (that’s right, ESPN!) and most recently the BET Awards.
Many rap fans believe Cole has the talent to go on a similar run, but if he’s going to pull it off, he needed to start with a game-changing album like good kid, m.A.A.d. city.
Enter Born Sinner.
Cole’s focus this year has been undeniable and his willingness to pour his heart and soul into his music is evident (unlike some other rappers). Born Sinner is almost exclusively Cole. Of the 19 songs on the deluxe edition of the album, the 28-year-old produced or co-produced 17 of them. Cole also made it a point to limit the number of features on this album. Only three other rappers were featured on the album in any capacity, and just one of them — Bas, not Kendrick Lamar or 50 Cent — actually spit a verse on Born Sinner.
Couple that with Cole moving his release date up one week so as to compete with Kanye West’s Yeezus, rather than Wale’s The Gifted and Mac Miller’s Watching Movies With The Sound Off, and Cole single-minded quest for greatness begins crystallize.
For those that love lyricism, they were not disappointed by this record. Cole showed off his trademark wordplay on nearly every song. He showcased his lyrical prowess on “Forbidden Fruit”, where he speaks of the temptations brought about by the fairer sex (it was difficult to get over the fact that Cole didn’t allow Kendrick to cook on that record, rather, relegating him to hook & bridge duty). “Runaway” was a similar song, in that Cole poetically dissects the struggles of being faithful to one woman as his rap career continues to blossom.
Sidebar: One HHSR twitter follower suggested perhaps Cole didn’t want to suffer the same fate Jay-Z did when he let Eminem get on “Renegade” (one of the great collaborations of all-time), which is why Kendrick didn’t spit a sixteen. Let’s hope that was not the case.
Relationships, infidelity and his overall trust issues with women were frequent topics of conversation on Born Sinner. In addition to the two songs mentioned above, “She Knows”, “Power Trip”, “LAnd Of The Snakes”, “Sparks Will Fly” and “Trouble” all fell into this category. J. Cole also had a pocket of songs dedicated strictly to money, including the “Mo Money” interlude, which seemed randomly tossed in the opening third of the album— although it did strike a chord with some wealthy individuals…
Mo Money- J Cole, realest song I’ve heard ina while
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) June 19, 2013
The most interesting song on from a hip-hop head’s perspective was undoubtedly “Let Nas Down”. The cyber-streets were buzzing as soon as word leaked that Cole was releasing a track mistakenly called “I Disappointed Nas”. On the record, Cole recounts a story where after he released the song “Work Out” — which is actually still the most successful single of his career — word gets back to him that Nas, one of his rap idols, thought the song was trash.
In his eyes, Cole had merely sacrificed one radio-friendly song in an effort to jump-start his career, so that he would be afforded the platform to properly showcase his art and skill. While the third verse was somewhat pretentious, J. Cole’s position is one that many artists have drowned in for years, yet he was able to vividly craft his feelings in a way that could resonate with any hip-hop fan that ever wished realness was once again magnified.
Sidebar: Nas cleared up any potential controversy over the song after releasing his take on “Let Nas Down” (see bottom of the page).
Cole’s work as a producer continues to improve. He’s gone out of his way to prove himself as a dual threat in the rap game, while continuing to take a stab at singing every now and then. Born Sinner contains two incredible samples that immediately jump out at true hip-hop fans: the Outkast classic “Da Art Of Storytellin Pt 1” on “LAnd Of The Snakes” and sample from the unforgettable “Electric Relaxation” by A Tribe Called Quest on “Forbidden Fruit” (Word to Shawn & Marlon).
Overall, Cole’s production is solid. However the majority of it contains a torpid tempo and leaves sort of an audio-overcast over the record. Perhaps this is by design; the album title doesn’t exactly foster positive or upbeat thoughts. Still, Born Sinner’s ultra-relaxed cadence over the course of 78 minutes can occasionally make it difficult not to lose interest. One or two less beats like “Chaining Day” and one or two more like “Villuminati” would’ve significantly helped this LP. Just adding some different producers in general could have contributed some much needed diversity to the collective sound of the project.
And therein lies Cole’s biggest flaw. He possesses all the talent in the world, but can he consistently keep people listening? An avid HHSR reader recently referred to him as “the Tim Duncan of rap”. Mostly a compliment, yes. And Duncan is obviously one of the all-time greats, so if Cole himself were to hear that, he’d likely welcome the comparison. Yet TD has long been considered one of the most boring superstars in sports. So why is this a problem? Because J. Cole is not an athlete. He’s an entertainer and he’s in the entertainment business.
Sidebar: Cole’s BET Awards performance, was a quintessential display of the boring. Twitter was ready to soil itself with anticipation of him taking the stage, but what happened? He’s sitting on a stool half the time. No dancing (by the artist or the crowd). No pyro. No surprises. No creative design with the set. No new verses. No switch-up of the beat. Nothing (some purists may argue this is how hip-hop should be…nah, not exactly). And while it’s a great song, “Power Trip” proved to be an awkward live performance. By the time it was over, Cole should’ve been begging Miguel to go Superfly Snuka on the crowd, just so that people would remember it. If an entire album could be condensed into a 3:58 visual, that may have been the best example you’d ever find.
Fight Night: Winner By Ninth Round TKO
While it seemed eerily similar to The Game’s Jesus Piece, Cole’s Born Sinner did a remarkable job of sticking with its overall theme throughout the album. This was as honest of an album as you’ll find in 2013, with Cole calling out all of his imperfections: musically, physically, emotionally, monetarily, materialistically and misogynistically (is that a word?).
It’s early yet, but one problem that persists is understanding this album’s proper place in the rap game. Some were already stamping Born Sinner with the predictable “classic” moniker as soon as it came out. In addition to being a product of the “prisoner of the moment” society of which we live, this can most likely be attributed to the album dropping on the same day as Yeezus. FYI: Despite leaking nearly two full weeks before the scheduled release date, the people have spoken (although, for some inane reason, Billboard refuses to recognize Jay-Z’s one million copies sold for Magna Carta Holy Grail, even if the RIAA does).
The comparison was just too irresistible, wasn’t it?
The end result? Kanye’s album was so polarizing — and so terrible in the eyes of so many — that it had an inverse effect on the perception of Cole’s album. Born Sinner is a fine album, but it’s hard to definitively say that it is even better than his underrated debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story, let alone a classic.
Sidebar: This album is certainly more mature than his debut, but better? It’s debatable.
Still, the versatility he demonstrated as a lyricist on this album (switched up his flows repeatedly, even borrowing form Biggie and Nas at times), in addition to the in-depth subject matter, made for a finished product. So many artists strive for consistency in their music, as they should. It appears the kid from Fayetteville, NC has reached a point of extreme consistency, which can either be a gift or a curse, depending on how you look at it.
For Cole, it could be dangerous.
He’s reached the point that anytime you hear a track with him on it, you can almost bank on it being at least pretty good (look no further than the final five tracks of the Born Sinner deluxe edition, aka Truly Yours 3, another very dope collection of songs). But for an artist that doesn’t seem to exude charisma, do we know he’ll be able to take it to the next level? Like a player that stays in school for four years and wins college player of the year but doesn’t get selected until the end of the lottery, does J. Cole have any upside, or has he already maxed out on his potential? Born Sinner didn’t quite answer that question.
Nevertheless, it is still one of the best albums of 2013, even with his mentor, Jay-Z, focusing his energy on his own project. The door remains ajar for someone else to take over the summer’s top spot, but right now J. Cole may very well be in pole position.