Whattup world?! It's Keenan (of course) and I'm back like MJ in '95! If you didn't see the post yesterday, then go here before continuing so that you can keep up. Let's continue... So what album do I have as #6 out of the most recent summer releases? No other than Born Sinner by J. Cole **golf claps**. I must start this out by saying, I really thought J. Cole’s mixtapes were some of the best music I had heard for the longest. My senior year in high school consisted of a ton of Kanye (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), Mac Miller (KIDS), and J. Cole (The Warm-Up & Friday Night Lights). Yes, two of his mixtapes were on constant repeat as I walked through the halls of Sycamore High School (side note: I am really looking forward to the day that I become a success and they ask me to come back to speak to some kids about how SHS was instrumental in my path to success. My laugh will be a combination of hyena, Jay-Z, and Eddie Murphy followed by a resounding “No.” Let’s just say I don’t have many fond memories of high school that didn’t occur on a basketball court). Understand that just because he is ranked 6th on my list, doesn't mean I don't like the album. It's a really good listen, and obviously a lot of people like it, but to me it was just a really tough group to contend with. So as I review this, I hope that I’m not labeled a hater or anything (actually Idc, you can label me whatever helps you sleep better at night). I’m being honest. It’s what I do best. Let’s start, shall we?
1.
Villuminati
Firstly, let me say that I don’t
like how Cole acts like he is from THE Ville.
Do you know how many Villes there are?!
Personally, I feel like Nashville is THE Ville (615 stand up). But anyways, his first two lines compared
himself to Jay-Z and Tupac. Whoa
sir! I know it’s a Cole World and all,
but it ain’t that Cole yet. Like you’re
“nice” but you ain’t “NICE!” I think the
whole f**got spiel is an example of that.
Like, he made a point, then eliminated it, made another and did nothing
with it. Huh? But according to him I’m homophobic because I
paid a lot of attention to that part. **Kanye shrug**. As far as the beat to this song: ehh. It doesn’t suck or anything, but I’m not like
“Yo, J. Cole is the next greatest producer ever son. Like, he’s gonna be up there with Dre
soon. Beat is CRAZY!!!!!” Nah, but its
ok.
2.
Kerney Sermon (Skit)
Stupid. Stupid.
Stupid. I can’t find the next
button fast enough. These 48 seconds added
absolutely nothing to the album whatsoever.
3.
LAnd of the Snakes
Da Art of Storytellin’ is about to
come on? Oh, nevermind. It’s just the beat with a little Cole touch-up. I mean it isn’t like this is from one of the
greatest groups ever (Outkast) from one of the best albums (Aquemini). That’s a lot to live up to. I must say that I like how the song starts
with “Damn Cole I wish I woulda known you would be rich/ Well, shoulda
asked”. Ha. Funny.
I feel the same way. This hook
was trash “Make that ass drop/ Hey make that ass drop”. The creativity is plentiful in this one *sarcasm*. The end, when he talks to this girl that he
hooked up with and never talked to again was funny too. Everybody has that person that you ignored
until you needed some attention or something.
They always seem happy to see or talk to you, but I think Cole is right
in that in the back of their mind they’re like, “Oh so now you wanna talk
huh? When I locked my keys in my car and
was stuck outside in the snow the other day with no jacket and my wet socks
your phone was dead and you weren’t home, you ain’t want to. You tweeted that you were bored at
home!!” Cool song. It ain’t change my life or nothing, but it
was cool.
4.
Power Trip
We’ve all heard this song
3,773,438,347,509,817 times (s/o to the radio for trying to kill off every song they
play), but I like it still. Miguel aka
Mr. Supreme Leg Drop is starting to become a favorite of mine. I also like when dudes who can’t sing decide
to try **gives thumbs up to J Cole**. It
gives me a part in the chorus where I can join in and feel like we’re really in
this together. If you are familiar with
J. Cole then you probably realize that this is a continuation of his song
“Dreams” where he fictionally (I hope) stalks a girl, gets denied by her
because of a boyfriend, then kills the boyfriend because after you kill a
girl’s boyfriend, she’s obviously going to want you because she wouldn’t
suspect you might not just be crazy about her.
Maybe you’re just crazy. Anyways,
there isn’t much to say about this song though because we’ve heard it so much. Still dope for now.
5.
Mo Money
This was dope, money. The beat is dope, money. I don’t think he could rap a whole song like
so, money. But I still kinda wanted mo’
money. (see what I did there? I rapped
like… nevermind). Next!
6.
Trouble
The hook immediately gets a
“Booooooooo. You suck.” But the choir was dope. I’m a sucker for a good sample or a good
choir (s/o Kanye). The way he starts the
second verse is nice though because I feel the same about school. I’m just there to meet people and maybe learn
some stuff that Google can’t teach me (which isn’t much). I won’t quote the last 8 bars or so of that
verse, but that part is REAL! Overall,
I’m not mad at the song, but I wouldn’t just be like “Aye cuz! Put that ‘Trouble’ joint on! That song makes me want to change the world
like MLK and Malcolm X. Like I feel
empowered by the message. Like I gain the
ambition and knowledge of a young Aristotle from everything Cole says on that
track.” Nah. But I don’t hate it. I won't skip over it if it comes on.
7.
Runaway
J. Cole has a lot of girl
problems. Without females, he loses like
98% of his raps. And he basically dry
snitches on himself by telling everyone that no matter how hard he tries, he’s
still a dog. Haha. For him, that probably is ok because as a
rich entertainer he can get girls ASAP, no Rocky. Let one of us average, broke dudes try
that. We’d be out here looking thirstier
than Tyrone Biggums in a drought. Must be
nice. This probably my favorite song so
far though. The music is nice and what
he is saying is nice. I wouldn’t tell
everyone this stuff, but it is how people act and really feel. Also, he does more singing and I’m right
there swooning with him.
8.
She Knows
Another song about females.
Surprise? I say not. I'm not a big fan of this production. It doesn't call for endangered Polar Bears to be hunted for their fur or anything, but a couple cats might get their tails stepped on purposefully. As far as lyrics, it’s
just a continuation of the previous song talking about how terrible a boyfriend
he would be to a girl. Again, I don't hate it, but I wouldn't choke out an elderly lady WWE style for hitting the next button when it came on.
9.
Rich Niggaz
I thought this was going to be
some braggadocio about how everyone around him was rich, but instead it is the
opposite. He can’t even stand 93% of
rappers we hear every day (I can’t either **looks at Lil’ Wayne**). Not a huge fan of the music (it's an ok beat) This song got stuck in my head after I wrote this, so it's better than I thought. The content
is what makes it so wonderful though because he’s completely right in stating that all these rappers
talk about is money, jewelry, materialism (except they don’t use that word
because it’s too big for them). What is
interesting is that he is under Jay-Z and if anyone has heard Jay’s music
lately, you would know that he is the most extravagant person in the game right
now. I’m assuming Cole thinks its ok for
Jay because he does it creatively. While,
for instance, all most “rich niggaz” are talking about Bugattis and Jesus pieces,
Jay talks about a Basquiat and Picasso (it’s worth a Google). That’s probably just my opinion though and
secretly J. Cole hates Jay-Z and plans on assassinating him, kidnapping baby
Blue, and making Beyoncé his personal servant.
Who knows? Great content here though, especially if you get tired of the radio and the mainstream.
10.
Where’s Jermaine (Skit)
I know where Jermaine better not
be: Making another skit. Boooooooo. My skip button isn’t working fast enough.
11.
Forbidden Fruit
“KDot! Get in the car!” This definitely sounds 100% like a Kendrick
Lamar beat (it’s actually from an old song called Mystic Brew and A Tribe Called Quest sampled it first). You know what though? Cole World didn’t let Kendrick spit! Wow.
He teases us by saying “featuring Kendrick Lamar” and only gives us a
hook. A hook that anybody could have
done (though Kendrick's alien voice makes it kinda dope). Anyways, Jermaine never catches the vibe of the beat. It's really cool and mellow and he verbally A-Town Stomps on it. Kendrick saves the song and doesn't even have a verse. Tough World.
12.
Chaining Day
First off, “boooooooo” to the song
title. I can’t fully relate to this song
like most of Cole’s songs, but I like that he made a Jesus Piece song with a
new concept. It’s kind of like he doesn’t
even want the piece, but he can’t help it because it looks so nice. I can relate with clothes and shoes I
suppose, but I have yet to own a chain, and probably never will. If I’m buying a chain then I probably
wouldn’t make a song that says I hate “rich niggaz”. Just saying. The creativity an d new outlook on a concept that is played out was refreshing though and for that Mr. Cole... **salute**
13.
Ain’t That Some S**t (Interlude)
Time to get ignorant!! I honestly don’t care what he says on
this. He flows nice and sounds like he
knows what he’s talking about. The beat
is like Megatron krumping at the peak of a mountain that creates an avalanche
below and makes the music the snowboarders affected will ride to on the next
Red Bull commercial. Dope.
14.
Crooked Smile
Interesting song selection after
the ignorance that just occurred, but I really like this song. To me, music is all about vibes, melodies,
and content. This has all of that. I never really noticed that Cole had a
crooked smile, but DANNNNNNG homie. He’s
giving Fabolous a run for his money for “Most Messed Up Grill Even Though He’s
Got Money To Fix It” Award. Mouth looking like a unexplored cave. Teeth
like a speleothem (give it a Google).
Anyways, I really do like this, all jokes aside.
15.
Let Nas Down
I’m conflicted about this
song. On one hand, I’m like “Yo, that’s
a cool story Cole. I’ve never really let
down an idol like that before, so I appreciate your insight.” But on the other hand I’m like “You let Nas
down? So! You ain’t even know him like
that. You got on a track and cried about
letting down Nas? Smh.” Also, the fact
that Nas made a track called ‘Made Nas Proud’ was kind of lame, and I really like
Nas. Anyways, I’m still not sure how I
feel about this bromance between these two grown men, but the song is cool (I
think). And I guess for originality he can get a pass.
16.
Born Sinner
A safe, title track to sum up the
album. The guy on the chorus,
Fauntleroy, did a good job with his part.
I don’t have much to say about this song, but I like it.
Well alright, there you go! That’s what I think about Born Sinner. For the most part, Cole did a much better job
on this album of leaving out weak bars in his verses that scream “Boooooo!” and
left those for only a couple hooks. The
main issue that I have with this album, and why it is 6th out of the
6 I’m reviewing is that I just don’t like the music most of the time. His production doesn’t suck, but I don’t feel it like the others. It’s like a stale chip
when you’re really hungry. You need
food, so you’re going to eat it and it works for now, but you know there’s steaks and mac-n-cheese
out there to be eating too. I hope that
he works more closely with some bigger producers in the future, but as long as
he keeps giving us real life situations to relate to and doesn’t fall into the temptaion of “Molly Rap” he’ll continue to do fine.
Anyways, I’ll be back tomorrow with another one of these. I won’t tell you who yet, so follow us on
Twitter @WeAreBOM or check back here tomorrow to find out. Also you can follow us on Instagram @WeAreBOM. I’ll
holla at y’all later. Deuces Brodies.
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