KOD (2018)

KOD (an 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 Interscope Records.

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 and trap. Cole has stated that the production and rhyme schemes used throughout the album were inspired by SoundCloud rap. The album explores a variety of topics including drug abuse, addiction, depression, greed, African-American culture, and taxation in the United States.

The album was supported by two 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 to promote the album.

KOD received positive reviews from critics and debuted atop the US Billboard 200, selling 397,000 album-equivalent units 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 records. The album has since been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (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, HotNewHipHop and Uproxx named it the best hip-hop album of 2018.

Background and recording

In an interview with Vulture, Cole said that the seed for KOD was planted at rapper Kendrick Lamar's concert in Detroit for his Damn Tour in 2017. He said watching Lamar's performance reminded him of 2014 Forest Hills Drive. 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 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 his seventh studio album, The Fall Off. He released The Off-Season in 2021, and The Fall Off in 2026.

Artwork and title

Cole revealed the album's cover art on April 18, 2018. The cover art was done by Detroit artist Kamau Haroon, known artistically as Sixmau. Cole discovered Sixmau through singer and producer Childish Major, for whom he was doing art. Sixmau told Vibe 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: If I turn on the TV right now, it's not going to be long before an advertisement pops up that says 'are you feeling down? Have you been having lonely thoughts?' And then they shove a pill in your face" the voice says of the Kids on Drugs title. The second meaning, King Overdose is representing me… the times that I was — and am — afflicted by the same methods of escape, whether it be alcohol, phone addiction, women… Lastly, Kill Our Demons represents breaking free of past trauma. That's the end goal, to face our shit, realize we have some shit going on inside—everybody, I realized everybody family is fucked up because nobody is fucking perfect. Whether you want to or not, you're going to fuck up your kids in some type of way, because you got fucked up in some type of way.. the plan is to fuck your kids up the least amount possible. The first response to any problem is to medicate. Kill Our Demons is like, finding that shit, whether it be from traumatic childhood experiences, whether it be from a lack of attention, confidence issues, insecurities—whatever it is, we gotta be honest with ourselves. Look in the mirror or look inside and ask ourselves questions, like what's causing me to run to this thing as an escape? And once I find the root of that, let me look it in its face and see what it really is.

Composition

KOD has been characterized as conscious hip-hop with elements of jazz rap and trap. Cole has stated that the production and rhyme schemes used throughout the album was inspired by SoundCloud rappers. 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."