Album Review: J. Cole - Born Sinner

If there was ever a rapper groomed for superstardom, it's J Cole. A clean-cut college jock with a knack for both building and destroying beats, a couple of superb mixtapes under his belt and the backing of a man who doesn't make bad business decisions (Jay-Z), he was provided everything necessary to create a classic album. Yet despite all this, 2011's Cole World: The Sideline Story came out kinda 'meh'. Not a disgrace by any means, classier and with more depth than 90 per cent of its competition, yet possibly a victim of its own impossible-to-live-up-to hype. Named after that legendary line from Biggie Smalls, album number two, Born Sinner, attempts to hit harder without ditching the subtle, well-thought-out approach of his previous work. Constantly acknowledging his new-found position, roaming amongst the industry's biggest players, he expresses both his awe and his insecurity; wary, guilty even, of life in the fast lane yet giddy with the glamour and girls it brings. And much of Born Sinner takes aim at the ladies, whether admitting shame for past sins, trying to instill a sense of self-love or just plain trying to get a leg over, such as on first single, Power Trip, with soulster Miguel.

Being a producer himself, Cole puts great care into the music, notably the epic opening Villuminati with its hard funky drums, the gospel choir exhortations of the TLC-featured Crooked Smile or the dream combination of Kendrick Lamar and the same Ronnie Foster sample that powered A Tribe Called Quest's Electric Relaxation. Though not the classic he threatens to create, Born Sinner remains intelligent, middle-classy mainstream hip hop, a cut above the dumb shit that dominates the genre in 2013.