Born Sinner vs. Yeezus

Kanye West continues to push to boundaries of hip hop and rap beyond it's traditional boundaries, which depending on who you ask could be a good or bad thing. Yeezus is very experimental, experimental to the point that it is tough to even label it as a hip hop or rap album. Sonically, Yeezus is uncompromising and minimalistic, a stark contrast to the rich and layered production that we have come to expect from Mr. West.  For those who thought that after hearing Ye perform "Black Skinheads" and "New Slaves" on Saturday Night Live that Yeezus would be more conscious and socially driven will be in for a big surprise as the album plays out more like a pallet of Kanye's sexual desires, with the prerequisite Ye braggadocio . On my first listen I was like "Ok, I think I can rock with this" but on subsequent listens I grew more and more disappointed in this album.  Even in my disappointment I managed to find a couple gems such as "Bound 2" which features Charlie Wilson and "Blood On The Leaves." "Bound 2" serves as throwback to soul sampling style that made us all fall I love with Mr. West as a producer, while the genius of Kanye is on full display on "Blood On The Leaves" which finds Kanye perfectly meshing samples of Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" and Snoop Dogg's "Down For My N****'s" as a backdrop to tales of a groupies molly experience, and the events that occur after such a childbirth and being tied down for 18 years. I believe that many listeners will have a hard time attempting to resonate with this album. Coming in at only ten tracks length, there isn't much room for error but songs such as "Send It Up" featuring King Louie, "Black Skinheads", "Can't Hold My Liquor" which features Chief Keef and Justin Vernon of Bon Ivor, and "On Sight" , while not necessarily horrible, all fail to make a positive impact on the album. I think the experimentation of the album will draw the praise of some and the ire of others but I feel that experimentation is great until it hinders you as an artist and I feel that this is subpar lyrically to Kanye albums of past. Where he has always shown progression lyrically with each release, lyrics seem to take a back seat on Yeezus. On the controversial "I Am A God", Ye raps "Pink a** polo's and a f***ing backpack/ Everybody know you brought real rap back" referring to himself and his rise in the game and when he goes in the studio to record his 7th album, I hope he keeps that in mind.


                                                                            VERSUS:
                                 
                                                                  

Many thought that J. Cole moving the release date of  Born Sinner up to compete with Kanye West was a dangerous and potentially costly move but it proved to be exactly the opposite. Cole was obviously proud of and confident in the body of work that he put together and deservedly so. Born Sinner shows the tremendous growth of J. Cole behind the boards as well as on the mic. The sonic landscape of this album is leaps and bounds beyond that of his debut album Cole World: Sideline Story and provides the perfect back drop for the admittedly dark nature of the album. This album finds Jermaine making the music that gained him legions of fans during his mixtape run. Gone are the obvious attempts at radio airplay like "Can't Get Enough" , "Work Out", and "Mr. Nice Watch" maybe with the exception of the Miguel assisted lead single "Power Trip" which may have lost some of its commercial appeal courtesy of it's murder inciting video and "Forbidden Fruit" which features Kendrick Lamar as well as an A Tribe Called Quest sample, "Electric Relaxation" (by way of Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew"). Cole covers a lot of ground on Born Sinner such as comparing slavery to copping a chain ("Chaining Day"), struggles with commitment ("Runaway"), growing up poor ("Rich Niggaz") and letting his idol down ("Let Nas Down") just to name a few. Even the albums interludes serve a purpose such as "Mo Money" and "Ain't That Some S***", with the aforementioned "Mo Money" finding Cole sounding like he was inspired by a young A.Z. while spitting about the problems money bring and how those of the fairer skin view blacks and money, with lines like "How momma gonna teach you how to save your money / when she barely on the boat, got stay afloat money...no wallets, nah n****, we rather fold money / money control n*****, white man control money / laughing like yeah yeah my n**** get your money." While this album may not be perfect, it is hard to find a point in the album where you can honestly say that Cole stumbled. The sophomore jinx definitely doesn't come in to play here as Jermaine has empathically staked his claim for album of the year honors. Born Sinner see's Cole coming into his own as a producer and improving lyrically even though he was already regarded as  one of the more talented lyricist coming up. According to the late great Biggie Smalls, born sinners are the opposite of winners, but Cole's Born Sinner is definitely a winner, pure hip hop from start to finish.

                                                                      The Verdict:

So who won? Kanye will most definitely win the Soundscan battle (I hope I eat my words) BUT J. Cole's Born Sinner is the superior album compared to Yeezus, production wise and lyrically.

Final Grades:

Kanye West- Yeezus (D)
J. Cole- Born Sinner (B+)