I felt Cole was trying far too hard to convince us he was capable of making a classic album. He flip flops his style too much on this album, he's trying to darken up his act in places and seem more colder and less emotional then on the next track he'll go back to his nice guy role.
I'm not sure Cole knew himself what entirely he was trying to create here. I do feel bad for him, the guy's talented and I really enjoyed his work up until Born Sinner. But I just feel he tried to step into boots he wasn't ready to fill.
The fact that he thought he could compete with Kanye by bringing his album release date forward and then getting completely blown out the water just proves he's not ready to make the classic album he so desperately longs to create.
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