True to the title, the biggest theme of the album is immorality: the immorality of infidelity, the immorality of America's societal standards, and the immorality of creating music for mainstream success rather than artistic vision. He also repeats sociopolitical ideas unique to other rappers, most notably on "Villuminati", where he declares that a black man would never be allowed in the Illuminati - a point already raised in almost the exact same way by Kendrick Lamar.īut Cole is also capable of bringing his own personality and ideas to the table, and that's where Born Sinner shines. The imitation is not an issue that encompasses Born Sinner, but crops up enough to be noticeable, and detracts from Cole's originality. vocal sample, Cole's braggadocio, flow, and lyricism are all more emulative of Kanye. While opener "Villuminati" proclaims "Sometimes I brag like Hov" over a Notorious B.I.G.
Moreover, Cole has a bad habit of lapsing into idol-worship. Fortunately, after that song, the topics diversify, but the listener has already been bludgeoned over the head with the image of Cole plowing through groupies while his loyal girlfriend sighs resignedly at home. Cole's guilt has become repetitive and detestable. By the time "She Knows" rolls around, the concept of J. Six of the sixteen tracks here have sex or women as the motif, and even more than that refer to the ideas raised by those six songs. Cole is a sex addict - either that, or is addicted to sharing his sexual exploits on record and then feeling bad about them. For instance, Born Sinner has convinced me that J.
Not even close to a perfect product, really. Cole has created, if not a perfect product, at least a largely original one. (At least you tried, Curtis.) So the general consensus is that once more West will take home the gold in the all-important competition that is first-week sales, but when examining the batch of June 18th albums, it's clear that J.
The affair is reminiscent of when 50 Cent went head-to-head with West in 2007, in a sales battle that would end with West's "victory" and the realization of gangster rap's popular decline. Cole, has stirred up something of a frenzy. In particular, the sharing of the release date between West and fellow producer/rapper/Jay-Z disciple, J. June 18th is probably going to be a memorable date for hip-hop fans, given the massive hype train that Kanye West generated via his alternative media tactics.
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