The night we’ve been waiting all week for came last night and it did not disappoint. On a night reminiscent of the early days of Twitter, J. Cole fans and haters alike came together and had a group listening session of J. Cole’s new album, KOD. While the insufferable “Double Platinum with No Features” J. Cole stans and “Kendrick is better than Cole” haters duked it out, the rest of the internet appeared to greatly appreciate Cole’s newest effort.
I was supposed to drop my newest video with @chrisbrown today but @JColeNC had to fuck everything up with the release of his newest album so now I must find several seats and watch the ? work. ?? album is classic btw. Glad someone else besides me is publicly against these KOD. pic.twitter.com/MU60tGg9tV
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) April 20, 2018
The album starts off with Cole addressing all of his critics on “KOD”. Most notably, Cole raps, “The number one question is, “How?”/How does it feel now that you on?/How much you worth? How big is your home?/How come you won’t get a few features?/I think you should? How ’bout I don’t?/How ’bout you just get the f*ck off my d*ck?/How ’bout you listen and never forget?/Only gon’ say this one time, then I’ll dip/N*ggas ain’t worthy to be on my sh*t.”
https://twitter.com/AriLennox/status/987214850488123392
Following “KOD”, the album got an instant reaction with a relatable record called “Photograph” which Cole uses to describe a moment in his life where he saw a girl on Instagram and tried to finesse her. On this track, Cole delivers some of the most quotable lines of the entire album. On the hook, Cole raps, “Fell in love through photograph/I don’t even know your name/Wonder if you’d follow back/I hope to see you one day/I won’t show my niggas now/I’II keep this one for myself/Love today’s gone digital/And it’s messing with my health.”
Another standout reco is the deeply personal, “Once An Addict”. While it’s listed as an interlude, J. Cole delves deep over the three-minute song to illustrate how addiction has affected his relationship with his mother. J. tells his fans, “Step-daddy just had a daughter with another woman/Mama ain’t recover yet/Callin’ me at 12 at night/She drunk as fuck and I’m upset/’Cause why she always using me for crutch?/Growin’ up I used to always see her up/Late as shit, cigarette smoke and greatest hits from Marvin Gaye/She kill a whole bottle of some cheap chardonnay/I gotta leave this house ’cause part of me dies when I see her like this.”
I just listened to “1985” 3 million times in a row. @JColeNC you different different.
— ANoyd (@LivinANoyd) April 20, 2018
Cole closes out his album with the most talked about track, “1985”, where he is undoubtedly trying to let the next generation of rappers know about the pitfalls of the industry. It’s a faster route to the bottom
I wish you good luck/I’m hoping for your sake that you ain’t dumb as you look/But if it’s really true what people sayin’/And you call yourself playin’ with my name/Then I really know you fucked, trust/I’ll be around forever ’cause my skills is tip-top/To any amateur niggas that wanna get rocked/Just remember what I told you when your shit flop/In five years you gon’ be on Love & Hip-Hop,” Cole warns.
Stay checked in for a full album review next week. Until then, check out Cole’s newest album, KOD.
