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How do you follow a Grammy-nominated debut which managed to capture the ears and attention of a brand new audience, but alienated so much of your long-time fan base? Cut the bullshit.
J. Cole was undoubtedly one of hip-hop's most talented MCs, yet coupling his ability and exposure to create pop candy had been a cumbersome and frustrating adventure for him and fans alike.
For everything his debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story was — most notably, the fuel behind his Grammy nomination for Best New Artist — the fact remained the album represented a proud moment for his progress, not a musical testament to his nearly unmatched lyrically ability.
On Born Sinner, the North Carolina native skillfully blends his mixtape roots with some major label punch for a package befitting an album sales showdown with Kanye West (Yeezus edged Born the first week, with Cole since taking the lead).
Born Sinner is refreshing, the album's true beauty shining through in the details — the streets, the references, the locations, the fact that there are no other featured emcees. Even Kendrick Lamar's appearance is solely to croon the chorus of "Forbidden Fruit."
This time around, Cole was unafraid to explore his new level of success aloud, inviting fans into what sounds like an internal struggle to quantify just how big of a deal he is and what he should do because of it. That's played out from the opening bars of the first track, "Villuminati," where he opines, "Sometimes I brag like HOV/Sometimes I'm real like Pac/Sometimes I focus on the flow to show the skills I got/Sometimes I focus on the dough/Look at these bills I got."
In figuring out who he is, in many ways, Born Sinner becomes a love letter to the music he grew up on. If pulling from Outkast's "Da Art of Storytelling Pt. 1" for "Land of the Snakes" or A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation" for "Forbidden Fruit" weren't enough, there's "Crooked Smile" featuring TLC and the deeply personal, "Let Nas Down" which explores his angst after hearing his music had disappointed a childhood hero.
There is plenty of introspection and reverence, but it's hardly the major takeaway, nor should it be. After consuming Born Sinner, there's a definite sense of Cole attempting to balance being current and timeless. Any lingering bad taste from his debut should be washed away and what's left is a renewed sense of why you bumped Cole in the first place. There's an understanding that he isn't the same artist he was, and frankly, he can't be. But the new him may have some amazing things in store.
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