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Born Sinner

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Untitled

Born Sinner is the upcoming second studio album by American rapper J. Cole, scheduled for release on June 18, 2013 under Roc Nation and Columbia Records. It will be the follow-up to his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, which was released in 2011. The album was supported by two singles - "Miss America" and "Power Trip", the latter which peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album features guest appearances from Miguel, Amber Coffman, Kendrick Lamar, TLC, James Fauntleroy, 50 Cent, Bas and Jhené Aiko. The album was also primarily produced by Cole himself along with others such as No I.D. and Elite.

Background

A week after releasing his Gold certified debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story he begun work on the album that would become Born Sinner. He said it allowed him to, "reinvigorate himself both mentally and creatively."[1] October 24, 2011 during an interview with Hot 106’s Rise & Grind morning show, Cole revealed he had begun working on his second studio album, with hopes of releasing it in June 2012. He had also stated that the album would consist of songs that failed to make his debut: "I don’t know how many, but I got songs that didn’t make the last album that are automatically going to make this one."[2] On February 24, 2012 J. Cole reached two million followers on Twitter, he celebrated by releasing the song "Grew up Fast."[3] On March 1, 2012, J. Cole returned to his home town, Fayetteville North Carolina. To celebrate his return he released the song "Visionz of Home" and launched an event titled "Dreamville weekend" to inspire the youth of his hometown to achieve great things.[4] On July 26, he returned to Twitter after a 100-day absence and went on to reveal and release his new song "The Cure" in where he hints at a new album. On October 20, he announced at a live show that his second album is complete and he's waiting until after Lamar releases good kid, m.A.A.d city to reveal it and previewed two new songs; "Maine On Fire" and "Crooked Smile." However they were not tied to any project.[5][6] "Maine on Fire" would end up appearing on a Funkmaster Flex mixtape.

On November 5, Cole revealed the title of his sophomore album, and an album teaser for it, Born Sinner and the release date of January 28, 2013, via ustream.[7][8] With the title he ended his basketball-themed series of projects. He would say,

"It was just time for something new. I wouldn't have minded doing it again but I felt that I closed that story. "That metaphor and that storyline had really ended. Metaphorically I was just a kid working to get on this basketball team, got cut — that was The Come Up, then The Warm Up was like, alright I made the team, I'm on the team, now what? I'm not in the game, I'll just ride the end of the bench. Then Friday Night Lights was like 'come on man, you're still not gonna put me in the game? What I gotta do? Here, I'm gonna kill it in practice.Sideline Story was like, Wow, I really am starting now, and I feel like I ended that chapter when it's all said and done. Plus, this new theme is really more reflective of where I'm at and where I've been at for the past two years, so it was just perfect to move on."[9]

Recording and production

Shortly after then Cole stated that the album is 90% completed including the writing and recording.[10] Cole has said he has recorded four albums worth of material for the album.[11]

On November 30, 2012 Cole said he feels the album will be better than his debut due to him being more free in creating this one. Most of the production will come from himself and most guest producers and features will be kept under wraps until the album release comes closer. He went onto say the features will be minor and key to the album.[12][13] The albums production was primarly handled by J. Cole himself.[1]

Release and promotion

J. Cole announced a release date of January 28, 2013 (his birthday) along with the album name on November 9, 2012.[14] In early January the album was included on multiple "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" such as MTV[15] and XXL Magazine ranked Born Sinner the sixth most anticipated album of 2013.[16] After describing the January release date as ambitious, he would announce on New Years Day 2013 that the album would be coming out later than that date.[17] On February 22, 2013 J. Cole said that the album should arrive around June 2013.[18] He later would confirm a release month for June, and then on April 8, 2013 J. Cole announced via Twitter that the album would be released on June 25, 2013.[19] However, he announced on May 20, 2013 via his Twitter account that he would move the release up one week to June 18, 2013.[20] He later revealed that he moved up the release date to coincide with the release of Kanye West's album Yeezus, saying "Instantly the lightbulb [turned on]… it got real. I was like, ‘Yo…’ The idea hit me instantly: ‘You got to go to that date. I’m not going to sit [here]… I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. It’d be like, ‘Oh and J.Cole dropped too, a week later.’ Nah. I’m going to go see him on that date. He’s the greatest. So it’s like, I’m a competitor by nature so it was instant, it wasn’t even a thought.”[21]

On February 12, 2013 Cole released a free EP titled Truly Yours in promotion of the album. The EP consists of five songs in their "raw form" that he knew would not make the cutlist for Born Sinner.[11] Later on April 29, he announced that he would be releasing Truly Yours 2 the following day.[22] The EP featured guest appearences by 2 Chainz, Young Jeezy and Bas, with production from Canei Finch, Jake One and J. Cole himself.[23] The Deluxe version of the album will include Truly Yours 3 EP featuring 5 new songs.[24]

J. Cole said there is a lot he wants to do that he didn't get to do on his last album because the label didn't know that he was gonna come out and have the number-one album in the country so this time he hopes the promotion effort is way bigger. He plans to shoot a short film to accompany the album as well as multiple music videos.[10] In promotion of the album Cole released several Born Sinner vlogs, the first video spotlighted Cole's mother and her former job of working at the post office, and her retirement. The second video spotlighted friend and frequent collaborator Kendrick Lamar. In the video he discusses his earliest musical influences and his work ethic.[25] On June 6, 2013 J. Cole held one time listen sessions for the album in various places throughout North America.[26] The following day the album leaked in full online via various peer-to-peer file sharing websites. Rather than go into crisis mode and attempt to remove it from online, Cole put the album up for a limited time free stream.[27]

Singles

The first promotional single from Born Sinner was "Miss America" and which released on November 13, 2012.[28] Cole said he pushed away pop-accessibility in order to put out a single that provides social commentary.[29] The song has been described by multiple outlets and Cole himself as not an ordinary first single and in no way directed towards radio.[30][31] The song has peaked at number 6 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

On February 12, 2013 J. Cole announced that the first official single from the album would be released in the next week.[11] Two days later on February 14, he released the first official single, "Power Trip", a collaboration with Miguel.[32] The song was released to Urban contemporary radio on February 19, 2013.[33] The song has since peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second official single, 'Crooked Smile' featuring R&B group TLC was premiered on June 3, 2013. The song was made available on iTunes the following day.[34] The song will be released to Rhythm Crossover radio on June 18.[35]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Villuminati"Jermaine ColeJ. Cole5:08
2."Kerney Sermon (Skit)"Cole 0:46
3."Land of the Snakes"ColeJ. Cole4:15
4."Power Trip" (featuring Miguel)Cole, Miguel PimentelJ. Cole4:01
5."Mo Money (Interlude)"  1:18
6."Trouble"ColeJ. Cole4:18
7."Runaway"ColeJ. Cole, Elite5:15
8."She Knows" (featuring Amber Coffman)Cole, Amber CoffmanJ. Cole4:57
9."Rich Niggaz"ColeJ. Cole4:36
10."Where’s Jermaine (Skit)" J. Cole0:37
11."Forbidden Fruit" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)Cole, Kendrick DuckworthJ. Cole4:29
12."Chaining Day"ColeJ. Cole4:45
13."Ain’t That Some Shit (Interlude)" Tray Samuels2:27
14."Crooked Smile" (featuring TLC)Cole, Anthony ParrinoJ. Cole, Elite4:39
15."Let Nas Down"ColeJ. Cole4:37
16."Born Sinner" (featuring James Fauntleroy)ColeJ. Cole, Elite3:29
Total length:59:47
Deluxe edition bonus tracks (Truly Yours 3)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Miss America"ColeJ. Cole3:46
18."New York Times" (featuring 50 Cent & Bas)Cole, Curtis Jackson 4:32
19."Is She Gon Pop"Cole 2:45
20."Niggaz Know"ColeJ. Cole3:37
21."Sparks Will Fly" (featuring Jhené Aiko)Cole 4:12
Total length:78:39
Notes
  • The final track listing was confirmed on June 5, 2013.[36]
  • The bonus tracks on the deluxe version also serves as Truly Yours 3, the third installation of the Truly Yours EP series.[37]
Sample credits

References

  1. ^ a b By Dan Hyman (2013-05-02). "J. Cole's New Album: 'I'm All the Way Inspired'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  2. ^ Steven J. Horowitz, J. Cole Says His Sophomore Album Will Arrive In June 2012. hiphopdx.com. 24 October 2011.
  3. ^ J. Cole Grew Up Fast
  4. ^ J. Cole Returns To North Carolina For 'Dreamville Weekend'. rapfix.mtv.com. 2 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Video: J. Cole Performs New Verses Live In Hollywood ~ All City Chess Club". Allcitychessclub.net. 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  6. ^ Andy Bustard ContributorFollow on Twitter (2012-10-20). "Watch: J. Cole Previews Two New Songs Live". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-11-19). "J. Cole Says "Miss America" Is Meant To "Shift Culture," Preps Short Film". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  8. ^ By J. Cole @JColeNC. "Twitter / JColeNC: Right now. Meet me here". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  9. ^ Alexis, Nadeska (2013-04-11). "J. Cole's Born Sinner Tosses Old Basketball Theme Out Of Bounds". MTV.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  10. ^ a b Ugwu, Reggie. "J. Cole: 90 Percent Done With Born Sinner". BET. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  11. ^ a b c Horowitz, Steven J. (2013-02-12). "J. Cole "Truly Yours" EP Download". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  12. ^ 11/28/2012 23:40:57 (2012-11-30). "J. Cole Felt 'Free' While Recording Born Sinner - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  13. ^ 00:00. "J. Cole Talks Producing "Born Sinner" And Having Limited Features". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2013-05-26. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  14. ^ Vasquez, Andres (2012-11-06). "J. Cole Announces "Born Sinner" Album Release Date". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  15. ^ "Jay-Z And Eminem Return With 2013's Most Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  16. ^ "XXL Presents... The 35 Most Anticipated Albums of 2013 - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  17. ^ "J.Cole Born Sinner Delayed". Rap Radar. 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  18. ^ 00:00. "J. Cole Discusses "Baby Mama" Theme In Rap, Expected "Born Sinner" Release Date". Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  19. ^ "J. Cole Announces 'Born Sinner' Release Date". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  20. ^ "J. Cole "Isn't Afraid" Of Releasing 'Born Sinner' On Same Date As 'Yeezus' - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  21. ^ "J. Cole Talks Moving Up Album Release To Compete With Kanye West: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  22. ^ "Twitter / JColeNC: Fuck it. Truly Yours 2 tomorrow". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  23. ^ "New Music: J. Cole – 'Truly Yours 2'". Rap-Up.com. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  24. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.23513/title.j-cole-born-sinner-release-date-cover-art-tracklist/
  25. ^ "J. Cole Spotlights Kendrick Lamar In Born Sinner Series". Rapfix.mtv.com. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  26. ^ http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/06/j-cole-offers-one-time-listening-of-born-sinner-tonight/
  27. ^ http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/06/album-stream-j-cole-born-sinner/
  28. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-11-12). "J. Cole "Miss America" Single Cover Art". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  29. ^ "J. Cole Defends Crown on 'Miss America' Track: Listen - The Juice". Billboard. 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  30. ^ "J. Cole Talks "Miss America" and Sophomore Album Born Sinner | XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  31. ^ "J. Cole - Miss America". HipHop DX. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  32. ^ "iTunes - Music - Power Trip (feat. Miguel) - Single by J Cole". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  33. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases | R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates |". Allaccess.com. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  34. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/crooked-smile-feat.-tlc-single/id657616517
  35. ^ http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=16691
  36. ^ http://rapradar.com/2013/06/05/j-cole-born-sinner-tracklist/
  37. ^ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.23513/title.j-cole-born-sinner-release-date-cover-art-tracklist/
  38. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1566294/j-cole-born-sinner-track-by-track-review
  39. ^ http://www.complex.com/music/2013/06/j-cole-born-sinner-preview/land-of-the-snakes
  40. ^ http://www.complex.com/music/2013/06/j-cole-born-sinner-preview/forbidden-fruit