Born Sinner Dropped 3 Years Ago Today

"Imma drop the album same day as Kanye, just to show the boys the man now like Wanya."

Yep, that's right, Born Sinner, arguably the album that put J. Cole on America's (and probably the world's) radar as one of the most competitive emcee's out dropped 3 years ago today. When Cole announced that he'd be dropping Born Sinner the same day that elite hip hop artist Kanye West would be dropping his album Yeezus, he put the hip hop world on notice, because that kind of confidence was something hip hop was missing at the time (and though Cole is confident in his rhymes, you wouldn't get that cocky vibe just from listening to the man talk in every day conversation). Anyways, Born Sinner was a solid effort that got mixed reviews from critics after it's release, but we're not here to focus on that. Here, I'd like to focus on some highlights of the album that make it so great, and maybe even drop some jewels that you might not have known.

Villuminati


"It's way darker this time" was the perfect sentence to start off this album, and "Villuminati" was not only a perfect way to continue Cole's 'Ville influenced song series, but also the perfect song to start off the much darker Born Sinner album. On "Villuminati" Cole was coming for the game's throat, and though he didn't mention anyone in particular (in terms of dissing), he certainly showcased why he deserves to be at the top with his superior punchlines, flow, and conscience mind.

Let NaS Down

    
One of Born Sinner's most stand out tracks is the venting track "Let NaS Down", where Cole explains being let down by himself in making a song that didn't impress his idol, Nas. You can tell just by the way he talks in explaining the song in the interview above that Cole worshipped Nas as a young aspiring emcee, and he was devastated by Nas' critiquing of his first single off of his first major label debut, (Cole World: The Sideline Story) "Work Out". Cole would not give up because of this though, and went on to add "Let NaS Down" onto Born Sinner, and even eventually earned Nas' approval by getting the legendary emcee to feature on a remix of the song.


Also, here are some exclusive facts about the album that maybe you didn't know before, credit goes to @OnlyHipHopFacts on Twitter.

        

        

       










 
Happy Birthday Born Sinner!

What I Want From Kanye's "Waves"

If anyone knows how to draw attention to themselves, (rapper or not, although not all the attention is good attention) it's Kanye West. I don't care for the argument with Wiz Khalifa that was blown completely out of proportion, because although it is very entertaining to watch, I've taken more notice to how Kanye is promoting his slowly creeping up new album, Waves. Just a few days ago, Kanye put out an Instagram post of the supposed track list for Waves, and the internet was taken by storm. It's hard not to see it when it's all over my Twitter timeline of course, and normally I wouldn't care about a new Kanye album (send all the hate you desire, I don't care), but then I got to thinking about Kanye's old albums and what it'd be like to hear some more game changing tracks like the ones off of 808s & Heartbreaks, or some more haunting, orchestral sounds like the ones on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It seems Kanye is always one to try painstakingly hard to try to change the game; so much so that sometimes he forgets how to make a more to the point, simple (but certainly not simplistic) banger that people will want to play over and over again. Here's what I'd like to hear from Kanye's new album, taking into account what has already come out from Kanye since last year.

So since last year Kanye has released a barrage of loose tracks that live on no current project, and do not appear on the track list for his upcoming album Waves. Kanye collaborated with the great Paul McCartney on a couple of songs last year, including "FourFiveSeconds" which also featured Rihanna. Then came the song "All Day" a little bit later in 2015. These songs seemed like catchy enough songs to get radio play, but they didn't really bring more excitement towards the possibility of Kanye's album coming. Fans talking on the blogs and social media seemed to want the more ominous stuff that gave the MBDTF vibe, and it seemed like they got it when "Real Friends" and "No More Parties In L.A." featuring Kendrick dropped in the beginning of 2016.

https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/real-friends-no-more-parties-in-la-snipped
https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/nomorepartiesinla

Now these are the kind of songs I can vibe to. This is what Kanye should be doing all the time; his past experimenting with beats and song making strategies has gotten mixed reviews considering they range from College Dropout to Yeezus and everything in between, but with these new songs, Yeezy seems to be sticking to what works. Classic sampling, ominous tones and some subtle, yet powerful beats seem to be the perfect recipe for what Kanye is calling "the best album of all time." He was also quoted as saying on Twitter that "This is not album of the year. This is album of the life." Classic Kanye, but we'll see when that day comes 'Ye.

Kanye's never really impressed me lyrically, but he's always has that "it" factor with his music that makes you want to listen over and over again. The thing about Kanye is that he makes music with no expiration date, songs on every album of his still go to this day (especially my favorite Kanye album, 808s & Heartbreaks), and that's something that a very few can actually say (especially now). So what do I want from Kanye's new album?  I want some banging tracks. I want more songs like "Real Friends" and "No More Parties In L.A.". I want Kanye to bring this "God level rapping" that Travis Scott said lies on Waves. I want Kanye to stop fucking around with crazy sounds that mirror a screaming chimpanzee in the zoo, and stick to the classic samples that we hear on "Real Friends" and "No More Parties In L.A.". Dear Kanye; STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW. I'll end this with one of my favorite, most perfect Kanye songs ever. (*PS*; I also think Kanye pulls off auto tune perfectly and is the only person who should be allowed to use it, ever.*)


                     (*I do not own this song, or the rights to it*)


            



          








   








              

Kanye West Is Making Songs With A Fucking Beatle

I once read a twitter user say "Kanye is so amazing because I've listened to every Kanye album from College Dropout to Yeezus, and I still don't know what a Kanye song sounds like."  Which now that I think about it, couldn't be more true. I haven't always favored Kanye's music (or anything Kanye for that matter, his attitude on things is always entertaining though), but I have had phases in my life where I just "can't get this damn Kanye song out of my head."  In 2007 when "Stronger" came out I was 13 going on 14 years old (I say this because if there is any Kanye song that resonates with me so much it's "Stronger", or "Heartless" for that matter, both stick out to me and I have memories of). These songs stick out to me obviously because I grew up with them and I was sensitive to what I heard around me, I may not have actually liked them, but I heard them a lot and got used to them. I never thought of Kanye West as a rap giant, and never really thought he would turn into what he has today, so I brushed these songs off. Kanye West may not be making the music that everybody wishes he would make, and he may have lost a few fans along the way, but there is no doubt that Kanye is doing something that no rapper has ever done before.

Admittedly, when I heard about this Kanye West and Paul McCartney collaboration I certainly scratched my head. I thought I was reading another one of those web sites that just made headlines for hits on their site, a "TMZ" if you will, one of those sites that isn't even about giving people the truth, more so some exciting bullshit that probably has a very little amount of truth to it and just wants to make you click. When the song came out I kind of ignored it at first (not only because I thought you had to buy to listen, just seemed like more of a publicity stunt than music), but then one day I decided "what the hell, it's Kanye West and Paul McCartney, let's see what the buzz is about."

 Can you honestly say you got what you expected?  I have mixed feelings about this one. It might be better to not put this song in context to all of Kanye's other music because it sounds completely different, but if you're a Kanye fan who has listened to every album you might expect this to sound a tad different (or not, going back to the "I still don't know what a Kanye song sounds like" argument). It's not a terrible song and it has a decent message, but my question is what is Paul McCartney's incentive to do this?

In case you haven't heard a quarter of the Beatles (Paul McCartney) is executive producing Kanye's entire next album, which leaves many scratching their heads. The old heads wonder why Paul is doing this seeing as he's a fucking Beatle, he has literally done it all and could die right now as one of the top 10 most influential figures in music history. Kanye could gain a ton of respect from other fans and have a completely different type of audience opened up to his music, but what is it (if anything) that Paul gains from doing this?  Is Paul looking for a way back into the limelight?  Does Paul want to cross the genres in a way that no one has ever done before?  Or is Paul just broke and looking for money?  The questions become more and more bleak with every detail being revealed about Kanye's next album (set to drop later this year, though no release date has been given).

It's too hard to tell so early what these 2 are planning to accomplish, but apparently they want to change the way people see music, or at least that's what you hope for with these latest releases. There's not much to say about Paul McCartney that isn't already common knowledge at this point, if you don't know anything about the Beatles or what they've done I'd say that you are too sheltered to understand the magnitude of what Kanye is attempting to do. The funny thing about it is that Kanye and Paul not only have this "Only One" song out, but they also have another collaboration that includes Rihanna that was released not too long after "Only One" came out, and you can check that one out below. Be sure to let me know your thoughts on Kanye's plans with Paul fucking McCartney below or on Google+.

                                  (*I do not own these videos, songs, or the rights to any of them*)