J Cole’s 5th Studio Album “KOD” Secures 2018’s Best Selling Album

After 1 week of its release, J Cole’s KOD has set record release numbers for 2018 by selling approx. 397K units, a few shy of 400K. From the 397K sales, 166K were sold from traditional physical CD copies.

For a very private rapper, J Cole has been way more visible in public interaction than he typically is. This past week, he announced physical Vinyl’s & CDs to be sold via Dreamville.com with his autograph; he was interviewed in depth by Vulture and even took time to interact with fans by answering their questions via Twitter. To end the successful week, the whole Dreamville team announced a Dreamville Music Festival set to take place in Raleigh, NC.

To lead off the album push, a music video for ATM was released on 4/20 (release day). The song is expected to land on Billboards top 100 this week. A music video, which is a lot more visual than his previous videos, outlines the basis of having money but still having to spend it all to maintain a lifestyle one creates. J Cole later thanked Busta Rhymes via Twitter for the inspiration for the music video.

J Cole’s KOD album has been well perceived by the public. KOD stands for “Kill Our Dreams, Kids on Drugs and King Overdosed” the main theme was to have one recognize their demons & alter egos and try to “kill” their ways, hence 'kiLL Edward' the only other feature on this album. Through theory, it has been noted that ‘kiLL Edward’ is actually derived from his stepfather’s name, Edward; and Cole trying to “kill” the demons that were influenced onto him from his stepfather.

A great album with a powerful message, J Cole finishes the project strong with ‘1985’ a track in which many believe he may be taking shots at other popular trendy rappers, but one in particular, Lil Pump. In this case, the message can be directed to many rappers in the newer generation. J Cole raps in schooling them how to sustain their career, how he’s stayed relevant for so long with plans to be even longer. On the other hand, after schooling them on how to last in the rap game, he speculates that their careers will soon hit a downward spiral and end up on “Love and Hip Hop” within 5 years.

The album definitely is one that I enjoyed and will keep in rotation for time to come. Be sure to check out J Cole’s KOD album out now on physical copies and on all streaming services.

-AyeYoJDoe