This Is Not an Album Review of J. Cole’s “Born Sinner”, Or Nothin Like That Posted by Nathan S. on 06/11/13 | Filed under Top Stories, Opinion, J. Cole

Now this right here is not a preview of what the album review goin' to bring you, or nothing like that. I'm just sharing things I think quietly, with those that admire me*.

After spending the weekend listening to J. Cole's "Born Sinner", I still don't feel ready to write a full album review. I know, I can't believe I haven't declared an album a classic, or a flop, three days after it dropped either. There's clearly something wrong with me.

But the album's weighing heavily on my mind right now and I feel like I have to get some of my thoughts down on paper the interwebs. In no particular order, here's a collection of random shit that popped into my head as I listened to "Born Sinner". I'm not calling it an album review, I'm not doing some bullshit where I confine it to some SEO-friendly number (i.e. "10 Thoughts About J. Cole's 'Born Sinner'..."), I'm just writing as I listen because that feels like the most honest shit to do at this point.

Stream is at the bottom so you can listen as you read and respond. Got it? Ok, here we go...

* I don't know what it means for Cole's sales, but as a hip-hop head, I'm glad this leaked/dropped a week before "Yeezus". The simple reality is that I might not have spent the time with "Born Sinner" that I am this week if it was competing directly for time in my headphones with new Kanye.

* In a way "Born Sinner" is validation for everyone who was disappointed in "Cole World". It turns out we were completely right. He IS capable of making a much better album, and Cole himself repeatedly talks about how he caved into label pressure to make a "hit", resulting in watered down music like "Work Out". "Cole Summer" might be the best breakdown of that label pressure, but he doesn't avoid the subject on the album either, most notably on "Let Nas Down". Speaking of which... ,

* As a rap nerd, I can't get enough of "Let Nas Down". Behind the scenes stories like these are gold, a genre Kanye pioneered (hence the "let the story begin" reference). My first reaction hearing this though was to put myself in Cole's shoes; if Nas told me he was disappointed that I catered to radio, I'd be like, "Oh really? REALLY?!?!?!?! Your bodyguards verse was better than yours!" And then I'd spend the rest of my life wishing I could just keep my fucking mouth shut and not talk shit to rap gods. Anyway...

* When I upload this to my iTunes, I'm cutting out both skits. I get that they're generally in the same religion/money ballpark Cole talks about so much on the album, but do they do anything to advance the album? If they weren't there, would you miss them? By contrast the "skits" on Kendrick's "GKMC" truly add something to the album's storyline and feel. Why are these rappers so obsessed with skits?

* On that note, "Ain't That Some Shit" is Cole's version of "Backseat Freestyle", just his chance to black out and rhyme as hard as possible over a dope beat. Expect every mediocre rapper alive to try to "freestyle" over this instrumental, and Cole can flow, but he just doesn't have that power in his voice to make this a real banger. On a 1-10 banger scale, with 1 being "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" and 10 being "Big Beast", I'd give it a 7.

* I'd listened to "Power Trip" repeatedly before the album dropped, but it wasn't until recently that I realized HOLY SHIT THAT'S A RON BROWZ REFERENCE!!! Is Cole the first person in rap history to reference some Ron Browz lyrics? Until I hear otherwise, I'm giving him first status. "Wifin in the club? Gimme $20." One million bonus points awarded to you Jermaine, well played.

* Speaking as someone who runs "Your Favorite Rapper is Poor", this might just be the most financially realistic mainstream album I've ever heard. The financial theme of "Born Sinner" could most accurately be described as, "I have more money than anyone working a regular job, but believe me, there are a LOT of people richer than me, and this rap money isn't shit compared to Exxon money." Much respect to Cole for that, seriously. "Mo Money" and "Rich Niggaz" is the obvious touch point, and the third verse of "Villuminati" alone might as well be the new theme song of "Your Favorite Rapper".
Keep on asking me about the Illuminati
Is you stupid nigga
Young Black millionaire
Old White billionaires
I'm sure that they could do without me...
Beyonce told me that she want to cop the new Bugatti
That shit is more than what I'm worth
I think she knew it probably
Well this is awkward

* As long as we're on "Villuminati", what's up with the multiple "faggot"s? He's way too smart for that shit, he needs to leave it to the rappers who have to rely on stirring up controversy. And no, that was neither a joke nor does it show how homophobic I am.

* The easiest change between "Cole World" and "Born Sinner' is simply the production. I don't know if he learned some new tricks over the last year or so, is just more confident, or both, but either way, as Elite said, they really went all out. That "She Knows" instrumental is outstanding, as is "Crooked Smile".

* I'm a little torn though on "Forbidden Fruit" and "LAnd of the Snakes". On one hand it's dope that he sampled some classic hip-hop, especially when he shouts out Tribe and Outkast in the lyrics. But especially on "LAnd of the Snakes", he's not even flipping a sample, he's essentially just rhyming over the original beat with some re-worked drums and background vocals. Ultimately I think it's a good thing, hopefully it will inspire a younger generation to find those older songs, but purely from a production standpoint, these two are essentially mixtape beats with samples he had the money to clear.

* Cole's singing on "Runaway" is the best I've ever heard him do, I almost had to check the credits to make sure that was him, and one of the best songs on the album for me. Great balance of a sung hook, some lyrical depth, storytelling skill, etc.

And...there, that's all I've got for the moment. I know it'll be infuriating for some that I haven't offered up some concrete pronouncement on the album and boiled it down to a number, but I'm just not ready to offer any concrete pronouncements three days after it leaked, and more than a week before it's even officially dropped. The most credit I can give to "Born Sinner" is that it's good enough that I feel obligated to really take my time thinking about it, and talking about it with people I respect (that'd be y'all RefinedHype).

Let's do the damn thing....

* Cole's not the only one who can drop rap references.

See Also:  J. Cole is Now Officially Streaming “Born Sinner”, Let the Debate Begin
See Also:  Is “Forbidden Fruit,” J. Cole’s Collab With Kendrick Lamar, As Dope As Expected? (Listen)