J. Cole Drops ‘KOD’ Album

The real is back. The 'Ville is back. With less than a week's notice, J. Cole delivers his fifth solo studio album, KOD, on Friday (April 20).

As with his last two projects, Jermaine planned a swift rollout for his new LP. He announced the album on Monday (April 16), only hours after promoting a then-mysterious get-together at New York City's Gramercy Theatre. The surprise event turned out to be an album listening for the select few hundred people who were able to make it in the building. Cole performed the entire KOD album and explained the meaning behind the songs.

The follow-up to 2016's 4 Your Eyez Only, the North Carolina MC's new offering contains 12 titles in total. Unlike his last two albums, the release does have features, with Kill Edward appearing on two tracks. However, this mystery artist appears to be Cole's alter ego, though he hasn't confirmed what fans are sure is to be true.

On the new album, the Dreamville head honcho experiments with different flows and waxes poetic about a number of topics with a recurring theme of addiction. Cole revealed the album's title has multiple meanings including Kids on Drugs, King Overdose and Kill Our Demons. "This album is in no way intended to glorify addiction," a line of text on the cover art reads.

Listen to J. Cole's new KOD album below.

J. Cole's KOD Album Tracklist

1. "Intro"
2. "KOD"
3. "Photograph"
4. "The Cut Off" featuring Kill Edward
5. "ATM"
6. "Motives"
7. "Kevin's Heart"
8. "Brackets"
9. "Once an Addict (Interlude)"
10. "Friends" featuring Kill Edward
11. "Window Pain (Outro)"
12. "1985 (Intro to the Fall Off)"

See New Music Releases for April 2018