Born Again is a collaborative studio album by Danger Mouse and Jemini. It was released on Lex Records on 25 August 2023. It is the sequel to Ghetto Pop Life which was released 20 years earlier. Born Again is Jemini's first album to be released since then.
The ten tracks were all produced by Danger Mouse. Jemini is the lead vocalist on every song, there are no featured artists on the album.
Delay
Writing in Pitchfork, Nina Corcoran chronicled the timescale between the recording and the release of the album:
"Back in 2003, Danger Mouse and Jemini unveiled their debut full-length together, Ghetto Pop Life, to underground fanfare. The two immediately returned to the studio to hash out new material together, and those recording sessions would culminate in Born Again less than a year later. But the LP was indefinitely shelved, making its release nearly 20 years later the first time these songs will be heard."[8]
According to Spin, the reason for the two decades long delay between recording was "never quite explained".[9]
Critical reception
Consequence named "Brooklyn Bazquiat" their "Single of the Week" and described the track as "scrappy, braggadocios, and a hell of a lot of fun... with a beat full of bells and whistles and Jemini’s unflinching, swagger-heavy flow".[10]
Sheldon Pearce, talking on NPR podcast All Songs Considered, weighed Born Again against Danger Mouse & Jemini's debut album, finding it
"a progression from Ghetto Pop Life in almost every way."[11]
Writing in Variety, Todd Gilchrist described the album as "the best hip-hop record from 2003 you never heard" and continued "Jemini’s versatility as a lyricist and Danger Mouse’s sturdy, imaginative production gives Born Again a timeless quality that’s not just worthy of its predecessor but places it among the top tier of similar releases from the last several years."[12]
Jeremy Allen's review for Record Collector comments on the tone of the lyrical content, saying that listeners can hear "...a reticence and a sense of regret that creeps into the lyrics as Jemini anticipates a lengthy stretch for narcotics misdemeanours... tinged with a sense of sadness for all that wasted time."[4]
