The rapper/producer is selling himself as counter-programming to rap’s biggest star, and that gamble might make him an A-list emcee.
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When I say that I'm the greatest, I ain't talking about later
I'mma drop the album the same day as Kanye
Just to show the boys the man now like Wanyá
And I don't mean no disrespect, I praise legends
But this what next the boy sick, can't disinfect
– J. Cole, "Forbidden Fruit"
J. Cole's decision to intentionally release Born Sinner, his second official album, on the same day as Kanye West's Yeezus is bold and a little bit crazy. J. Cole is projected to sell around 150,000 copies in his first week, and most other weeks, that would guarantee him a No. 1 debut. But West is projected to sell more than three times as many records, and there's just no competing with the hype machine behind his album. On paper, this looks like an incredibly dumb move, but it's actually a stroke of genius.
For one thing, Cole gets to position himself as a scrappy underdog with fans; the David to Kanye's Goliath. Like West, he's a rapper-producer auteur, and hungry to prove himself as a major figure in hip-hop. By going up against the biggest, most acclaimed artist in rap, he forces himself into the conversation at a time when he might otherwise go completely ignored outside the niche of mainstream hip-hop.
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