J. Cole’s New Album ‘Born Sinner’ Draws Mixed Reviews

J. Cole released his second full-length album, the semi-autobiographical Born Sinner, on June 14 to mixed reviews.

J. Cole, 28, counts rapper Jay-Z as a mentor but wanted to make it clear in a May 2 Rolling Stone interview that he self-produced most of the album. “I want people to know when they hear it – ‘Yo, his two hands made that,'” J. Cole said. Despite the spotty notices, nearly every reviewer commended J. Cole’s lyricism.

Billboard called the album stellar and a big step up from his first album – Cole World: The Sideline Story. At the album premiere in New York City, the album was played alongside imagery representing the album’s — and J. Cole’s — journey. “The imagery was a nice touch, but in the end not necessary,” Alex Gale wrote. “‘Born Sinner,’ easily the best hip-hop album of 2013 so far, stands on its own merits.”

XXL felt that the album felt inexperienced. “Much of the album is an inner battle between a lust for the fast life (groupies and things of that nature) and wanting something more substantial,” XXL’s critic wrote. “The wobbling emotions can be a bit much at times, and Cole doesn’t quite have the finesse of a Drake to pull this balance off.” However, NMB contended that J. Cole continues to be a snappy lyricist. “But while BS may not exhibit the growth sonically or conceptually that fans may have anticipated after hearing Cole’s early work, he remains too gifted lyrically, too keen of a storyteller, and too emotionally open for his sophomore LP to be anything less than impressive, but not overly so.”

Rolling Stone called J. Cole both a powerhouse and truth-teller. “The flagship signee to Jay-Z’s record label spins dervish rhymes over dazzling self-produced tracks,” Jon Dolan wrote. “His riffs on racism, homophobia and misogyny have more lyrical cunning than insight. But when it comes to twisting himself into Kanye-size pretzels of career-oriented real talk, he’s a champ.”

HipHop DX called the album “undynamic,” but still an improvement on his first album. “Receiving a pass for effort and strong conviction rather than actual execution, Born Sinner does little to rectify concerns that J. Cole has trouble exciting segments of his audience. Despite the layered production and varied rhyme cadences employed at times, it’s not a particularly dynamic listen,” wrote Jesse Fairfax. “Cole’s repertoire now includes commentary about how race, power and wealth are all connected—particularly for those in his chosen field. It’s an improvement from earlier efforts (see his reference to the Three-Fifths Compromise of 1787 on “Runaway”), which adds up to an improved, but not quite superior album.”

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