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''KOD'' (an
initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...
for ''Kids on Drugs'', ''King Overdosed'' and ''Kill Our Demons'') is the fifth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American rapper
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born in a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained attention as a rapper following the release of his d ...
. It was released on April 20, 2018 through
Dreamville Records Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Cozz, O ...
,
Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...
and
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
. The majority of the album's production was handled by Cole himself, along with others such as T-Minus, Mark Pelli, BLVK and Ron Gilmore. The album incorporates elements of
jazz rap Jazz rap (also jazz hop or jazz hip hop) is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip-hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American ...
and trap. Cole has stated that the production and
rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...
s used throughout the album were inspired by
SoundCloud rap SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one ...
. The album explores a variety of topics including
drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
,
addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
, depression,
greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...
,
African-American culture African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American/Bl ...
, and
taxation in the United States The United States has separate Federal government of the United States, federal, U.S. state, state, and Local government in the United States, local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels. Taxes are levied on income, payroll, ...
. The album was supported by two
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
: " KOD" and " ATM", both of which debuted in the top 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In August 2018, Cole embarked on the
KOD Tour ''KOD'' (an Acronym and initialism, initialism for ''Kids on Drugs'', ''King Overdosed'' and ''Kill Our Demons'') is the fifth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on April 20, 2018 through Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and I ...
to promote the album. ''KOD'' received positive reviews from critics and debuted atop the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 397,000
album-equivalent units The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
in its first week (174,000 coming from pure sales), earning Cole his fifth consecutive number-one album in the country. It also broke several
streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
records. The album has since been certified
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). The album also debuted at number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. ''KOD'' appeared on several music publications' mid-year and year-end lists. ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'', ''HotNewHipHop'' and ''
Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
'' named it the best hip hop album of 2018.


Background and recording

In an interview with ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'', Cole said that the seed for ''KOD'' was planted at rapper
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
's concert in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
for his Damn Tour in 2017. He said watching Lamar's performance reminded him of ''
2014 Forest Hills Drive ''2014 Forest Hills Drive'' is the third studio album by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 9, 2014, by ByStorm Entertainment, Columbia Records, Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. Recording sessions took place over the whole year, whi ...
''. Cole further explained saying: "Kendrick's show gave me chills because I got to see what it was like to have a hit album performed, and it set off a desire, it was a recognition — like, ''oh, I’ll take that again''. Like looking at a menu, ''I’ll have that again''." The majority of the album was initially recorded over a span of two weeks while Cole was on the
4 Your Eyez Only Tour 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist J. Cole, to support his fourth studio album ''4 Your Eyez Only'' (2016). Dreamville Records, Dreamville artists JID, J.I.D, Ari Lennox and Lute (rapper), Lute served as o ...
and while on vacation in Italy and Tanzania, Cole recorded three songs while on tour, and another six while on vacation. According to Cole, he went back to the drawing board to perfect the final three songs. The final version of the album took an additional 6 months. Before recording ''KOD'', Cole was working on an album titled ''The Fall Off'', which he plans to release in the future. He released ''
The Off-Season ''The Off-Season'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on May 14, 2021, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. The album was executive produced by Cole, Ibrahim Hamad (music executive), Ibrah ...
'' in 2021, and plans to release ''The Fall Off'' later o


Artwork and title

Cole revealed the album's cover art on April 18, 2018. The cover art was done by
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
artist Kamau Haroon, known artistically as Sixmau. Cole discovered Sixmau through singer and producer
Childish Major Markus Alandrus Randle (born July 4, 1991) known professionally as Childish Major, is an American rapper and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He was first credited with production work on American rapper Rocko's 2013 single " U.O.E.N.O ...
, for whom he was doing art. Sixmau told ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' magazine: "I can't talk much about his vision. You're going to have to listen to the album. It all ties in together. It was definitely a collaboration. It was a marriage of art and music. He told me what direction he was going in and then he gave me freedom to portray it how I wanted." The album's title carries three different meanings: ''Kids on Drugs'', ''King OverDosed'', and ''Kill Our Demons''. On April 19, 2018, Cole released the album's trailer. In the trailer, Cole broke down the meaning of the album title, he explained:


Composition

''KOD'' has been characterized as
conscious hip hop Political hip hop (also known as political rap and conscious hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the 1980s as a form of political expression and activism. It typically addresses sociopolitical issues through lyrics, aiming t ...
with elements of
jazz rap Jazz rap (also jazz hop or jazz hip hop) is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip-hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American ...
and trap. Cole has stated that the production and
rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...
s used throughout the album was inspired by
SoundCloud rap SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one ...
pers. He said: "If you listen to the flows and the patterns and the production, it's like... these dudes inspired that form, that's the form I took to get this message off on this album."


Release and promotion

On April 16, 2018, Cole sparked speculation of a new album after he cleared his
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
account and changed his social media profile pictures to a plain purple background. Later that day, Cole took to
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
to announce a surprise event for fans at the
Gramercy Theatre The Gramercy Theatre is a music venue in New York City. It is located in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, on 127 East 23rd Street. Built in 1937 as the Gramercy Park Theatre, it is owned and operated by Live Nation as one of their two ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The event was free of charge, on a first-come, first-served basis. The event turned out to be a surprise listening session for the album. Later that night, he took to Twitter again to announce the album. Cole held a second listening session in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
the next day. On April 18, 2018, Cole revealed the track listing for ''KOD''. In order to promote the album, Cole announced the
KOD Tour ''KOD'' (an Acronym and initialism, initialism for ''Kids on Drugs'', ''King Overdosed'' and ''Kill Our Demons'') is the fifth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on April 20, 2018 through Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and I ...
on May 8, 2018. The tour included 34 North American dates, starting in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
on August 9 and concluded in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
on October 10, 2018.
Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...
,
Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998) is an American rapper and actor. The son of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, he has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young A ...
,
EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus; born Olu Onyemachi Dakarai Fann) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot; born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective S ...
and Cole's
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
kiLL edward served as supporting acts on the tour. On May 16, 2018, Cole released a 94-minute interview with
radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...
Angie Martinez Angela "Angie" Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, podcaster, singer, former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station WQHT, Hot 97 ( ...
. During the interview, Cole discussed a variety of topics including the album. The interview was conducted in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
at producer
Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is an American record producer. He is most known for producing material for close associates Nas, Amy Winehouse, and Jazmine Sullivan, but has also produced for other mainstream acts including Alicia Key ...
's house before Cole headlined the 2018
Rolling Loud Rolling Loud is an international hip hop music festival which has been held in Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. Established in 2015, it is "one of the biggest festivals in the world" according to ''Complex'', while ''Bill ...
Festival. The interview was Cole's first on camera interview since 2015. On May 25, 2018, Cole released another hour long interview with rapper
Lil Pump Gazzy Fabio Garcia (born August 17, 2000), known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as part of the SoundCloud rap scene in the late 2010s, gaining distinction for his minimalist music and rambunctious pu ...
where they asked each other questions. It was recorded at Cole's recording studio, the Sheltuh, in
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. The song "
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
" was allegedly aimed at Lil Pump. Cole performed "Intro" and "Friends" at the 2018 BET Awards on June 24, 2018. Singer
Daniel Caesar Ashton Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two EPs, ''Praise Break'' (2014) and ''Pilgrim's Paradise'' (2015) ...
performed part of "Intro" and the chorus to "Friends". Rapper
Wale Wale or WALE may refer to: Places * Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England * Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland People * Wale (surname) *Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Radio and televisi ...
was also part of the set. Writing for ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', Nerisha Penrose declared it the best performance of the night, writing: "Instead of opting for the bouncy standout cuts like “ Motiv8” or “ ATM” from his newest album ''KOD'', Cole reached for the heartfelt song “Friends” for his captivating performance." The performance was Cole's first at the award show since
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
.


Singles

" KOD" was serviced to American
mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ' ...
radio as the album's first
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
on May 8, 2018. The song broke
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
opening day record. It was streamed 4.2 million times, a record
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
previously held for "
Look What You Made Me Do "Look What You Made Me Do" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her sixth studio album, ''Reputation'' (2017). Big Machine Records released the song on August 24, 2017, following an approximately yea ...
" (2017). The song debuted at number 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. " ATM" impacted US
rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...
radio on July 31, 2018, as the album's second single. The music video was released on April 20, 2018, upon release of the album. "ATM" debuted at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. With the release of "ATM", Cole became the first musician to simultaneously debut three new songs inside the top 10 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with " ATM" (at 6), "
Kevin's Heart "Kevin's Heart" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on April 20, 2018 from his fifth studio album, '' KOD''. It was written alongside producers T-Minus and Mark Pelli, making it the only track on the album not to be produced by Col ...
" (8), and " KOD" (10). Cole managed pass the record high of nine simultaneous Top 40 hit songs in North America held by
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...
,
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
and
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
. He ties with
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
for having six positions in the top 20 on the Hot 100 chart, a record that the rock band had previously held for fifty-four years.


Other songs

The music video for the song, "
Kevin's Heart "Kevin's Heart" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on April 20, 2018 from his fifth studio album, '' KOD''. It was written alongside producers T-Minus and Mark Pelli, making it the only track on the album not to be produced by Col ...
", was released on April 24, 2018. The video features actor and comedian
Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...
. The song debuted at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Producer
DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...
released a remix of "
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
", titled "DJ Premier 1966 Remix" on May 29, 2018.


Critical reception

''KOD'' received positive reviews from critics. On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' praised the album, calling Cole "the conscience of mainstream hip hop". He continued saying: "The goofy, self-deprecating humour of his 2014 single "
Wet Dreamz "Wet Dreamz" is a 2014 song by American rapper and record producer J. Cole. It was released on December 9th, 2014, as the second single from his third studio album, '' 2014 Forest Hills Drive''. The song samples "Mariya" by Family Circle and the ...
" and the warm contentment of " Foldin Clothes" are both conspicuous by their absence. Instead, we find Cole repeatedly raising a concerned eyebrow at drug use in the world of Xanax-fuelled rap and probing hip-hop's obsession with money. It's the kind of thing that could come off a little preachy but it doesn't here, largely because Cole is always quick to implicate himself." Writing for The Ringer, Justin Charity called the album "a rebuke to the druggy concerns of a younger generation of rappers." He commented further saying, "''KOD'' is a curious treatise on how hip-hop might revise its principles in light of the genre's growing discomfort with the personal darkness that some very recent rap stars, proud addicts and abusers, have wrought." Trent Clark of ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'' praised the album, calling it "one of the most important rap albums ever". He wrote: "J. Cole has a gift in turning tears into teaching tools and ''KOD'' is a concise, leather-bound audiobook of invaluable life direction goals." In a positive review, Lawrence Burney of ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'' deemed the album Cole's "best effort yet", saying "yes, there are times when he seems a bit out of touch on ''KOD'', but what translates most successfully here is compassion and concern, not contempt." Briana Younger, writing for ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' stated: "''KOD'' is a stark reminder that some of life's most destructive elements don't always come with a warning label." Sam Moore of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' called the album "powerful". He said: "Cole has emerged this decade as one of the US' finest rappers. He's a confident lyricist with an ear for a hip-pop hook, a willingness to address difficult subjects and an ability to weave compelling stories through his music." Scott Glaysher of ''
Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...
'' said "Cole doesn't sacrifice any inch of rhythm or melody while detailing his cautionary tales. It's clear he's mastered the art of hiding medicine in candy." Mitch Findlay of ''HotNewHipHop'' gave the album a 90% rating saying, "''KOD'' is a trip worth taking". The album got an 85% audience rating based on over 400 user votes. In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said the album "has the feel of a casual placeholder between bigger ideas--it has neither the grim purpose or intense emotional acuity of his 2016 LP ''
4 Your Eyez Only ''4 Your Eyez Only'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. The album was Cole's first release with Interscope—his previous albums w ...
'', nor the cohesion of the prior one, ''
2014 Forest Hills Drive ''2014 Forest Hills Drive'' is the third studio album by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 9, 2014, by ByStorm Entertainment, Columbia Records, Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. Recording sessions took place over the whole year, whi ...
'' ..Mr. Cole is an empathetic rapper, but he can be a mean moralist, too." Former ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'' writer Justin Hunte called ''KOD'' 2018's most important album. He deemed it "a time-piece album for the year" saying, "''KOD'' is my album of the year because it targets a generational crisis, and it's not afraid to take an audience to therapy precisely when it needs it most. Is there anyone else in hip-hop willing to sacrifice their cool points to play therapist? If not J. Cole, then who?"


Accolades

The music video for " ATM" received nominations in two categories at the
2018 MTV Video Music Awards The 2018 MTV Video Music Awards were held on Monday night, August 20, 2018 at 9:00–11:43pm EDT at Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City. The 35th annual award show aired live from the venue for the 12th time, t ...
, including Best Hip Hop Video and
Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...
. ''KOD'' was nominated for Album of the Year at the
2018 BET Hip Hop Awards The 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards are a recognition ceremony held on October 16, 2018 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach, Florida. The nominations were announced on September 9, 2018. Drake led the BET Hip-Hop Award ...
. The album was nominated for Favorite Album at the
44th People's Choice Awards The 2018 People's Choice Awards, officially the 2018 E! People's Choice Awards, were held on November 11, 2018, to honor the best in pop culture for 2018. This ceremony, the 44th edition of the People's Choice Awards, marked a change of network f ...
. ''KOD'' has appeared on multiple mid-year and year-end lists in 2018.


Commercial performance

In the United States, on the day of its release, ''KOD'' broke streaming records on both
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
and
Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...
. The album achieved a total of 64.5 million streams on Apple Music, breaking the previous record for '' Views'' by
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
in 2016. The album achieved 36.7 million streams on Spotify. Following the release, the album was promoted on social media by numerous other artists including
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
,
Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...
,
Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...
, The Game, and
Diddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...
. ''KOD'' subsequently debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, earning 397,000
album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s, including 174,000 in pure sales, making it Cole's fifth number one album. At the time of its release, the album achieved the largest streaming week of 2018 (and third-largest ever), accumulating over 322.7 million streams, only behind
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
's ''
Damn Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment after death for sins that were committed, or in some cases, good actions not done, on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, it was believed that citizens would ...
'' (340.6 million) and
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
's ''
More Life ''More Life'' is the fifth commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake. Described and marketed as a playlist, some publications have referred to it as a mixtape. It was released on March 18, 2017, through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Rec ...
'' (384.8 million). It registered the biggest week in 2018 for an album, surpassing
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...
's ''
Man of the Woods ''Man of the Woods'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Justin Timberlake. It was released on February 2, 2018. The production of the album was handled by Timberlake, The Neptunes, Timbaland, Danja, J-Roc, Eric Hudson, and Rob Knox. ...
'' (293,000 units), and the second largest sales week, behind Timberlake's. Cole also became the first musician to simultaneously debut three new songs inside the top 10 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with " ATM" (at 6), "
Kevin's Heart "Kevin's Heart" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on April 20, 2018 from his fifth studio album, '' KOD''. It was written alongside producers T-Minus and Mark Pelli, making it the only track on the album not to be produced by Col ...
" (8), and " KOD" (10). As a result of sales and streaming figures, he was the first artist to have a trio of tracks open inside the uppermost tier at the same time. The remainder of the album also debuted in the Hot 100. Cole managed to tie with
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
for having six positions in the top 20 on the Hot 100 chart, a record that the rock band had previously held for fifty-four years. In its second week, the album fell to number three on the US ''Billboard'' 200, moving 105,000 album-equivalent units. In its third week, the album climbed to number two, moving 68,000 album-equivalent units. On May 14, 2018, ''KOD'' was certified
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 album-equivalent units in the US. On December 5, 2018, ''KOD'' was certified
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with one million album-equivalent units in the United States. ''KOD'' was a commercial success internationally as well, debuting at number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. It peaked within the top ten on charts in Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As of December 2018, ''KOD'' has sold over 273,000 recognized copies and over 1,131,000 album-equivalent units in the United States. ''KOD'' was ranked as the 14th most popular album of 2018 on the ''Billboard'' 200.


Usage in media

Songs from the album were featured in the official 2018 NBA Playoffs and the NBA Finals promotion for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. " ATM" appeared on the soundtrack to 2018 video game ''
NBA Live 19 ''NBA Live 19'' is a basketball simulation video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It features Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers as its cover athlete and was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 7, 2018. ...
''.


Track listing

Credits adapted from album's liner notes as cited on the official
Dreamville Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Cozz, Omen ...
website. Notes * signifies an additional producer * signifies an additional bassline producer * Kill Edward, credited as a featured artist on "The Cut Off" and "Friends", is an alias of J. Cole, stylized as kiLL edward * "ATM" is an abbreviation for "Addicted to Money" * "Brackets" and "Friends" are stylized in all caps * "Intro", "KOD", "ATM", "Once an Addict" and "Window Pain" feature background vocals by Jasmin "Charly" Charles * "The Cut Off" features vocals by Kaye Foxx * "Brackets" features vocals by Kill Edward and Kaye Foxx * "Friends" and "Window Pain" feature background vocals by Kaye Foxx Sample credits * "Intro" contains excerpts from "Love from the Sun", as written by Richard Clay, Carl Clay and Wayne Garfield, and performed by
Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is poss ...
. * "Photograph" contains excerpts from "All Mine (Minha)" as written by Raymond Evans,
Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison; March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a composing-songwriting duo with Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack ...
and
Francis Hime Francis Hime (Rio de Janeiro, August 31, 1939) is a Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist and singer. He is the composer of the jazz standard ''Minha / All Mine'', recorded, among others, by Bill Evans, Tony Bennett and Eliane Elias. Biogra ...
and performed by
Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...
, from the album ''Lotus Blossom''. * "The Cut Off" contains excerpts from "Kissing My Love", as written and performed by
Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...
; and "Dark & Mellow", as written and performed by
Takehiro Honda was a Japanese jazz pianist and band leader. Honda was born in Miyako, Iwate. He started playing piano at age five and studied at the Kunitachi College of Music, where he played in a quartet with Kazunori Takeda. By 1969 he was recording with a t ...
. * "ATM" contains excerpts from "I'll Never Stop Loving You", as written by
Nicholas Brodszky Nicholas "Slug" Brodszky (; April 20, 1905December 24, 1958) was a composer of popular songs for the theatre and for films. Brodszky was born in Odessa, today Ukraine (previously in Russian Empire, 1772–1917), into a Jewish family, who moved t ...
and
Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...
, and performed by
Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...
. * "Motiv8" contains excerpts from "
Get Money "Get Money" is a song by the American rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released as the third and final single from their debut album ''Conspiracy'' (1995). "Get Money," whose instrumental is fundamentally a sample of R&B singer Sylvia Striplin's 198 ...
", as written by
Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...
, James Bedford, Lamont Porter, Sylvia Striplin and Christopher Wallace, and performed by
Junior M.A.F.I.A. Junior M.A.F.I.A. was an American hip hop group from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. The backronym M.A.F.I.A. stands for Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes. They were formed and mentored by New York rapper The Notorious B.I. ...
* "Brackets" contains excerpts from "Fame (Part Two)" as written by and performed by
Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...
; and elements from "Maybe Tomorrow" performed by
Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...
. * "Once an Addict" contains excerpts from "A Day in the Park", as written and performed by
Michał Urbaniak Michał Urbaniak (born January 22, 1943) is a Polish jazz musician who plays violin, lyricon, and saxophone. His music includes elements of folk music, rhythm and blues, hip hop music, hip hop, and symphonic music. History He was born in War ...
. * "Friends" samples a portion of "Modesty Blaise Theme", as written by
John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...
, and performed by John Dankworth and His Orchestra. * "Window Pain (Outro)" contains samples from "Only Faith and Hope" performed by J.O.B. Orchestra.


Personnel

Credits adapted from official liner notes. Instrumentation * Ron Gilmore – keyboard * Yang Tan – strings * Jasmin "Charly" Charles – strings * Margaux Whitney – strings * Elite (producer), Elite – string arrangement * Nate Jones On Bass, Nate Jones – bass Technical * Juro "Mez" Davis − recording, mixing * Andrew Grossman – engineering assistance * Chris Athens – mastering * Glenn Schick − mastering * Sean Klein – engineering assistance * Todd Hurt – engineering assistance , vocal recording , string recording * Yang Tan – engineering assistance , string recording Additional personnel * Jermaine Cole – executive producer, creative direction * Ibrahim Hamad – executive producer, A&R, management * Adam Roy Rodney – creative direction * Kamau Haroon − illustrations * Felton Brown – art direction (Dreamville) * Scott Lazer – visual direction (Dreamville) * Joe Nino-Hernes – lacquer cutting (Sterling Sound)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* 2018 in hip hop music * List of number-one albums of 2018 (Australia) * List of number-one albums of 2018 (Canada) * List of number-one albums from the 2010s (New Zealand) * List of UK R&B Albums Chart number ones of 2018 * List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2018, List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2018 * List of Billboard number-one R&B/hip-hop albums of 2018, List of ''Billboard'' R&B/hip-hop number-one albums of 2018


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2018 albums J. Cole albums Albums produced by J. Cole Albums produced by T-Minus (producer) Roc Nation albums Dreamville Records albums Surprise albums Political hip-hop albums