KOD Album Review

On April 20, J. Cole released his fifth studio album, which he announced earlier that week under the moniker of “K.O.D.”, which was later confirmed by Cole to stand for ‘Kids On Drugs’, among other acronyms.
K.O.D. is the successor of “4 Your Eyez Only”, Cole’s previous album that was released in 2016, which went on to achieve platinum certification with no features, a feat that Cole himself had done for the first time in nearly two decades with his project, “2014 Forest Hill Drive.”
Despite the success of his previous albums, however, the reputation that preceded Cole was that he has yet to live up to his full potential. His vast fanbase aside, there have also been many critics who have claimed that his music was boring.
In a subtle deviation from his normal smooth, relaxed beats, Cole embraced a more modern, trap rooted sound on “K.O.D.” Relying heavily on melodies and autotune, Cole introduced a more diverse style than his critics previously thought him capable of.
On the intro track of the album, the album’s theme, “Choose Wisely” was a major part of the opening monologue and of the album as a whole. The monologue that composes this intro track lists the numerous vices that people use in order to cope with “the pain life brings”, in the words of the narrator of the track.
While the intro was impactful, the first track providing a theme for the album is nothing new for a Cole project, as highlighted by his earlier mixtapes, such as “Friday Night Lights” and “Warm Up”, which have similar introductory monologues and, in some cases, entire songs.
On tracks such as “KOD”, “Motiv8”, and “1985”, Cole takes a far more aggressive approach to his flow, as well as beat selection. Producing a majority of his own work, Cole’s flow, beat styles, and subject matter have stayed objectively consistent throughout his career.
Despite this, multiple tracks on his album, including the aforementioned ones, are all songs that have modern, trap-styled radio potential, as well as the classic Cole words of wisdom that he is known for incorporating in his music.
Cole also hinted that his more modern style could be a slight at the new, modern generation of rappers who use the style of rap that Cole incorporated into certain songs on the album.
“If you exclude the top three rappers in the game, the most popping rappers all are exaggerated versions of black stereotypes; extremely tatted up, colorful hair, flamboyant, brand names. It’s caricatures, and still still the dominant representation of black people, on the most popular entertainment format for black people, period,” said Cole in an interview with Vulture in regards to the new generation of rappers and what their impact is on the culture.
On the track “ATM”, Cole addresses the nation wide pursuit of this “stereotypical” black lifestyle, in which multiple characters, played by Cole, go through different struggles and do different things for the sake of money and how the pursuit of it can ultimately destroy you.
On tracks such as “Kevin’s Heart,” however, Cole provides a clear message to his audience as to what vice, adultery in this case, looks like from a males point of view. With a visual that included a guest appearance from Kevin Hart in the music video, Cole gave vibes reminiscent to his hit track, “Wet Dreamz”, which was widely regarded for its messages on love and other, relatable issues from his fans point of view.
“The album itself is top three so far this year,” DeKendrick Johnson, a senior Business Management major from Baton Rouge, LA stated in regards to just where this album ranks amongst the albums released this year by Cole’s peers. “Is it up there with DAMN? No.” said Johnson when asked if K.O.D. is better album than Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer winning album, DAMN.
Unable to escape the shadow of Lamar’s evident success, Cole also admits in the same interview with Vulture that seeing Lamar’s album success inspired him to get back in the booth himself.
“I got to see what it was like to have a hit album performed, and it set off a desire. It was recognition–like ‘Oh, I’ll take that again’,”said Cole in regards to reasserting himself into the hip-hop landscape.