Tunes Review: KOD
J Cole’s fifth studio album, KOD, has made a sudden large splash in the R&B pool. The album had only four days of build up before Cole dropped it on April 20th, 2018. The release of the album was announced by Cole in a tweet on April 16th saying “New album. KOD 4/20.” To say the absolute least, fans freaked. Since J. Coles album 2014 album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Cole has created a pattern of releasing albums two years apart, but KOD was released 8 months before the speculate release time.
Cole is a man who needs hardly any introduction, but in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a run down. In 2007 Cole put out his first mixtape The Come Up and has done nothing but rise as a superstar ever since. After The Come Up, Cole signed onto Jay-Z’s record label Roc Nation as the first signee. Cole then released five mixtapes before gearing up to dropping his first studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. Cole now has his own record label, five studio albums out, and one on the way.
The album KOD address several social issues, but the most prevalent one appears to be the damage drugs can have on a person’s life. The theme of the album is most obvious on the track FRIENDS, where Cole suggests that drug addiction can be blamed on many things in society including fatherless homes, influence of trap music, and corruption within the political system. However, instead of supporting the use of drugs to suppress emotions that build up, Cole suggests simply meditating to relieve stress and clear your mind. “I understand this message is not the coolest today… meditate, don’t medicate”.
As a J. Cole fan, I would give the album an 9/10. The album definitely gave vibes of his 2009 mixtape The Warm Up, letting old fans know that he’s sticking to his roots while embracing and exploring different sides of Hip-hop and R&B.
Hey, my name is Kyia Brocken and I'm a second year journalism student here at Langham. I'm a junior and have been attending Langham for all three years...
Dylan T. Nguyen • Oct 6, 2018 at 12:45 am
J. Cole is one of the most legendary rapper’s of our generation, said Drake.
A lot of hip-hop fans would also agree that the Roc Nation emcee has a lot of credibility in the game right now. Whenever the debate arises about who are the best rappers current, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar are two of the commons names that come up.
Drake himself has also been getting some attention especially since his infamous beef with Meek Mill. His latest album Views broke several Billboard chart records after spending weeks at No. 1.
During his performance at his final Summer Sixteen show at Madison Square Gardens in New York, Drizzy brought out J. Cole who got a hearty response from the audience. “You are looking at one of the smartest, greatest, most legendary artists of our generation,” the Toronto emcee said about Cole.
J. Cole went on to thank Drake for the gesture and also perform a few of his solo hits including “No Role Modelz” and “A Tale Of 2 Cities.” The NY crowd was really loving the North Carolina native emcee.
Alex • Oct 2, 2018 at 11:24 am
COLE WORLD
Crystal Le • Sep 29, 2018 at 9:27 pm
One of the best rap artists out there! Genuine in lyrics and life! (12th grade)