J. Cole – Born Sinner
Regardless of how your debut album is, the pressure of your
sophomore album is exponentially more. Regardless of a freshman flop or break
out success, everybody expects the second album to be better. J. Cole’s first
album was met with pretty good reviews but considering the critical acclaim of
his mix-tapes it seemed like a bit of a let down. Then he kind of got quiet and
then he came with two more mix-tapes to set up the album, and Truly Yours 1 & 2 quickly thrust him back
into the scene and created a hunger for the upcoming album. After the first
album many fans felt like Cole needed to get back to his mixtape style,
authentic hip hop, and leave the radio friendly stuff alone.
Seemingly unfazed by the pressure, Cole made two announcements
that shocked and kind of worried fans. 1. That he was kind of in a dark place
while recording the album 2. He was releasing it on the same day as Kanye
West’s album. Which made people
speculate on what the sound may be, either very dark or in order to compete
with Kanye very pop. How would I affect his sales, considering it leaked early
and he was competing with Mr. West? The Truly Yours series gave fans a little
comfort but you can never tell.
Born Sinner pretty much gave the fans/critics what they
wanted, because the album has more of a mix-tape feel than any album we’ve
heard in a while from any artist. Using a classic Outkast sample on “Land of The
Snakes” and the sample made famous by Tribe on “Forbidden Fruit” ft. Kendric Lamar and then flipping a Jenniffer Hudson sample
into a jam on Crooked
Smile ft. TLC . The two
shining moments come in the form of the first single “Power Trip”
ft Miguel, which has radio appeal without trying too hard, and
what will be one of the most memorable moments of his career “Let Nas Down”
All in all, Born Sinner checks out to be a very good album,
will probably be one of the best albums of the year. The entertainment value is
high, you’ll be bumping it for a while. The production is on point, lyrics and
song making value are as expected and on point. While its better than his first
album, its still not as good or better than the mixtapes. I’m unsure what’s
missing but something is different, it’s closer to a mix-tape but not quite,
but definitely a step closer in the right direction. Also from album to album
their doesn’t seem to be much growth, its good but it’s the same. There is no
new height, no new versatility, no different production, its exactly as
expected with no expansion. However the album is definitely worth checking, I
give the J Cole
– Born Sinner strong 4 stars out 6.
Kanye - Yeezus
We’ve come to expect different, out of the box and over the
top from Kanye West. We’re accustomed to not knowing what next to expect from
Kanye West, but I don’t think anyone could have expected what we got from Kanye
on this album. Kanye drops Yeezus,
easily this years most controversial album. Controversial from the name, to the
minimalist presentation, to the production style. Yeezus is the biggest shock
and change in direction of Kanyes career. 808 and Heartbreak was shocking but
it worked out. Im not sure many are going to say the same about this album,
Yeezus has seems like an experiment that went horribly wrong a la Commons
Electric Circus album. It’s everything we like about him lyrically; him being
brash, unapologetic, critical of society/culture and saying whatever he wants,
the things that made many of us fall in love with him in the first place.
However the production is definitely what we expect from Kanye. Kanye is
usually ahead of the curve and if we don’t like it at first we learn to like
it, but on this album the beats all seem to be the same very strip down, and
very electric, almost like bad EDM . The lyrics are decent, but the production,
song making, render the album almost unlistenable. Its too much experimentation
and Im not sure its going to progress hip hop forward. Its definitely going to
be talked about, it’ll be a love or hate album that polarizes people with next
to no one in the middle. Honestly it’s the type of album that makes you look
like a genius or it can ruin your career. If it blows up genius if not he’s
going to have along road back. In my opinion its not a very entertaining album
and will get minimal burn, I cant find a radio single but I’m sure they’ll find
one to force upon us and program us to like. I honestly think its his worst
album, and a huge disappointment, I can’t think of any time I’d really want to
listen to it, it’s a skip fest mixed with a struggle and disappointment. I give the Yeezus album 2 out of 6 stars.
Wale - Gifted
Wale has been on a steady and consistent climb in hip hop.
Always staying relevant, and consistently grinding and bubbling. He has had
radio success and has the versatility to the blow up, but hasn’t quite pushed
through yet. Wale has remained consistent with next to no drop off in between
projects. I think he sufferd from the fac that people don’t fully understand
him yet. After mostly good reviews and
the success of “Bad” of the Folarin
mixtape, he now delivers one of the summers most anticipated albums The Gifted.
Lyrically Wale is versatile, has depth and range and he
continues to give you that soulful emotional vulnerability and honesty found in
spoken word artist and the poetry scene, check ,Heaven’s Afternoon ft Meek Mill and Tired of Dreaming ft
Rick Ross & Ne-Yo. And of course he continues to tackle the
spiritual and social conditions of the world and culture around him, check Golden Salvation
(Jesus Piece) and Vanity. The production is more to the middle of
the spectrum and relatable, so every one should be able to get into a little
more, it is still true to him and his influences. Its still very musical,
artsy, and grown up two step based in sections but not overdone, check LoveHate Thing
. I think this album is his most complete
and best album and his stock is definitely rising. I rate The Gifted 4
stars out of 6.
Slin-K
@slin_k_polymath on
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