ALBUM: KOD
RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2018
GENRE: Hip Hop/Rap
LABEL: J. Cole P&D
KOD is the fifth studio album from North Carolina rapper J. Cole. Cole is arguably the most conscience and profound wordsmith in the rap game today. KOD consists of 12 tracks that are breezed through rather quickly within a 43 minute time frame.
The album kicks off with an intro that has a lot of spacey instrumentation with a female narrator echoing repeatedly the phrase “choose wisely” on the journey of life. Cole, over the years, has become somewhat of a self proclaimed instrument of disseminating knowledge about the goings on in the African American community and this album is no different.
Of the 12 tracks on the album 5 really stood out. “Photograph” is a track that talks about social media addiction. It discusses how unhealthy social media can be to some people. The track has a hypnotizing beat with Cole rapping a powerful message. “Kevin’s Heart” is the next notable song that focuses on cheating on your significant other. It has a laid back vibe which gives the listener a sense of calm. The song, which was produced by T-Minus, has dope lyrics which everyone can relate to.
“Once an Addict” is the most personal song of the album because it focuses on Cole’s mother and her substance abuse and how it affected his life growing up. The track is heartfelt and it seemed as though Cole was using it as a therapy session to cope with his unresolved childhood issues. The song that will definitely have the listeners bobbing their heads is “ATM”. It is appealing and upbeat and discusses how someone puts all of their happiness into the money that they have. And once you think about it, that’s somewhat sad. Listeners have to give it up to J. Cole for putting a very powerful message on the hottest beat on the album.
The last notable track is “1985” (‘Intro to The Fall Off’) which is the intro to the next J. Cole project ‘The Fall Off’ and it comes after the outro to KOD. It’s rapped over a very catchy beat with Cole delivering his melodic message as only he can. Leave it to Cole to self promote his next album in this album.
KOD receives 8 stars out of 10 stars.