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. 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. The cyber-streets were buzzing as soon as word leaked that Cole was releasing a track mistakenly called “I Disappointed Nas”. The most interesting song on from a hip-hop head’s perspective was undoubtedly “Let Nas Down”.
Mo Money- J Cole, realest song I’ve heard ina while 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… 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. Relationships, infidelity and his overall trust issues with women were frequent topics of conversation on Born Sinner. 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.
“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. 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). Cole showed off his trademark wordplay on nearly every song.
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.Ĭouple 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.įor those that love lyricism, they were not disappointed by this record. Cole also made it a point to limit the number of features on this album. Of the 19 songs on the deluxe edition of the album, the 28-year-old produced or co-produced 17 of them. city.Ĭole’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). 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. 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. Last year, Kendrick Lamar “made the leap” and became a star. Cole, IF he delivered on his sophomore album. No artist was in a better position to “make the leap” to super-stardom more than J. That much was made clear in our preview of the Summer in hip-hop piece. Tale of the Tape: The time is now for Jermaine Cole. Notable Fire: Forbidden Fruit (Featuring Kendrick Lamar), LAnd Of The Snakes, Let Nas Down, Villuminati, Power Trip (Feat. Weight Class: Lyrical Heavyweight/Rising Star Cole, Christian Rich, DJ Dummy, Elite, Irvin Washington, Jake One, Ken Lewis, Nate Jones, Ron Gilmore, Syience Cole, (Roc Nation, Columbia Records, Sony Music, Dreamville)Ĭut Men: J. Album/Mixtape Reviews Hip-Hop 4 Comments 24 views 0