Born Sinner Review

The improvement is mostly technical. He learned how to mix, so the drums land and the soul samples have depth instead of haze, and the whole record sits in a dark late night register that suits his voice much better than the bright chase of the debut. Power Trip is the single and it is genuinely lovely, a Miguel hook over a loop that circles rather than builds.

Land of the Snakes and She Knows carry the paranoia. Let Nas Down is the one everybody quotes, a song about disappointing a hero that is honest enough to admit the disappointment was deserved. Villuminati opens hard and includes a line he had to walk back, which is worth noting rather than skipping past. It is still too long and the preacher tendency is fully switched on. But this is a coherent album with a mood, and it is the moment the self production stopped being a liability.