Nothing lasting or expansive is delivered. Styles and inspirations are varied and disparate but there is no real cohesion between the individual tracks. His lyrical prowess is instead highlighted by short interludes between songs that are supported by simple, sophisticated beats. Cole’s lyrical content ends up suffering. It’s a well-executed fusion, high energy while still retaining the qualities of a slow jam, illustrating the duality of intimacy- both tender and visceral.Īs a general rule, when the production value of a song is noticeably exceptional, J. The song’s strength lies in its inherent contrast: flutes against warbling bass, falsetto choruses set against growly verses. Cole also enlisted the help of saxophonist/flutist Hubert Laws to write the wispy melody that casts the mold for the beat. The next obvious standout on Born Sinner is the single “Power Trip” accompanied by vocal powerhouse Miguel. A languid, orchestral melody navigates through drum and bass, half-hearted original rhymes, and an indisputably savvy sample of Biggie Smalls’ “Juicy.” For all its eccentricities, though, the track is evocative, sultry, and surprisingly worldly. The album’s opener, “Villuminati”, is layered and disparate, like oil above water.
Cole pays homage to legendary rap and hip hop icons (writing verses like “2Pac was like Jesus, Nas wrote the Bible”), he fails to establish himself as an artist who could one day attain the same kind of infamy. It even sounds fairly enjoyable the first time around.
He succeeds in developing a niche partition of progressive, contemporary hip hop that captures old school R&B with new school production techniques.
The album is constructed in a similar manner to that of a middle school art project: collaged, dissonant, abstracted from already established hip hop expressions. Cole, born Jermaine Lamarr Cole on an army base in Frankfurt, Germany, kicks off his much anticipated, sophomore album with the words: “It’s way darker this time.” But the record, coined Born Sinner after recycled lyrics from Notorious B.I.G., can be more accurately described as muddled, indistinguishable, and disorienting.