Based on such bravado, you would have thought Muhammad Ali spewed these lyrics during his fighting heyday in the '60s. But instead of a larger than life boxer, a scrawny rapper/producer from North Carolina named J. Cole proclaims he can hold his ground amongst the greats with his sophomore album, Born Sinner.
It's lines like this one that leave you saluting his confidence but disparaging lyrics directly related to the every album you are listening to. The Fayetteville MC utilizes his old tricks to craft his latest project: boastful raps to justify his place in the game and raw emotion to earn his "real" stripes. Even with the staple of ingredients, Born Sinner lacks the direction and unexplainable essence of a classic--a classic that J. Cole was perfectly set up to deliver.
The lyrical content disappoints, especially from a guy who built a reputation on being a leader in the new school of MCs that prioritizes bars over banter. Ironically, Cole too often wastes bars bantering about the bitches he runs into on the daily and the industry-related mischief he indulges in, then scrambles to inject a pathos fueled line to satisfy his content checklist. This continues from song to song with many tracks missing definite purpose or lyrics that are remotely worth deciphering.
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Cont.
Many figured that J. Cole would use his colleague and close friend Kendrick Lamar as inspiration in trying to the match the sonically captivating and 'short film disguised as an album' which was "good kid, m.A.A.d city". It was assumed by the hip hop Gods that Cole would come with his own introspective masterpiece and one up his buddy Kendrick...but this wasn't the case. Maybe Cole should at least be extolled for not trying to mirror what Lamar did, yet he needed to do something a bit more abstract than what Born Sinner is.
On the other hand, the musicality of Born Sinner is noteworthy. The production is vibe friendly and serves as a testament to Cole's attention to detail and genuine ear for music. The LP sees Cole making an effort to hone his skills as a producer rather than his skills as an MC. Overall, the album is a solid effort from a still promising rapper: the only problem is we said this about the first album. With two classic mixtapes that saw Cole showcasing his lyricism coupled with the ability to make quality bodies of work, Cole seems content that he has spewed enough witty lines and looks only to challenge himself on the boards. Juxtapose his albums and mixtapes and you will notice the hunger in his voice is a little watered down by pointless anecdotes on women and Jay-Z.
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