J.Cole’s fifth album, KOD, whose acronym has three meanings—Kids on Drugs, King Overdosed, and Kill Our Demons broke both Apple Music and Spotify’s records for streams in the first 24 hours in the US.
The album, released on April 20, not coincidentally on what’s known as a marijuana day in US culture, contains an array of sounds from smooth jazzy beats to trap drums and repetitive hooks. The topics of conversation initiated by its lyricism are also worth noting.
1. Unfaithfulness
On a smooth old-school beat with the influence of mild trap drums, “Kevin’s Heart” speaks on the difficulty of resisting temptation despite having the woman of his dreams before him. It describes loving someone and fearing to lose them, yet recognizing his selfishness in creeping and allowing other women to linger in his thoughts. The song, and particularly the video which features comedian superstar Kevin Hart, calls to mind Hart’s cheating scandal, in which a video was released of Hart “getting friendly” with another woman despite expecting a child with his wife. The song expresses the persistence of temptation describing “staring at the screen awhile before I press decline” when it calls. The underlying message is that people, particularly Kevin, are simply humans who can sometimes make mistakes and bad judgments.
2. The Twisted Nature of the Capitalistic Tax System
Track no. 8, “BRACKETS,” covers the issues the black community faces despite paying unbearable tax dollars that are, allegedly, intended to be put back into the community. Accompanied with jazzy piano keys and guitar, Cole makes commentary on the fact that the fictional “Uncle Sam” figure, representing America, takes half of the people’s money in tax dollars claiming its meant for roads and schools, however, it is not convincing. He makes the observations that students don’t have the tools necessary to graduate from school despite the tax dollars, likely because they are used to pay white teachers that only teach the European narrative of history. He points out that people don’t have a say as to where their hard-earned money goes and voting to make a change is a process that is too slow for the age of technology and smart devices. Furthermore, he comments on the fact that trusting Congress members only puts that tax-payer money into the hands of the NRA, who create more guns that only return to the neighborhood taxpayers are hoping to improve and killing off the children with stray bullets.
3. Addiction
Accompanied by a catchy hook, in “FRIENDS,” Cole blatantly calls out the addicts out there that turn to drugs to cope with the trauma they’ve faced in their lives. He acknowledges that the trauma exists and there’s a lot of people to blame for it, but suggests people need to stop running from themselves when he says, “But I know depression and drug addiction don’t blend/ Reality distorts and then you get lost in the wind.” He warns that eventually their demons will catch up with them one day and all that can be done is to face them. Finally, Cole suggests there is a better way—meditation.
4. The Triviality of Pop Culture
In this total schooling track, “1985,” J.Cole responds to alleged disses by young trap rappers Lil Pump and Smokepurpp. In a conversation-like flow, Cole uses this track to congratulate the young trappers for making money and moving out of their parents’ homes. He acknowledges that rap has changed and that it is not necessarily a bad thing. However, he proceeds to share that he is unimpressed by the music that is trending, asking the question “But have you ever thought about your impact?” He brings attention to the greater underlying issue that a black man not giving a damn is exactly what is expected, “These white kids love that you don’t give a f*ck/ ‘Cause that’s exactly what’s expected when your skin black/ They wanna see you dab, they wanna see you pop a pill/ They wanna see you tatted from your face to your heels/ And somewhere deep down, f*ck it, I gotta keep it real/ They wanna be black and think your song is how it feels.” Wow. All in all, in these skillful bars he lets the kids know that they should be smarter about their music and their money instead of riding trends and feeling invincible because the fame and the fortune are not ever-lasting.
In general, Cole delivered a multi-faceted album combined with many sounds, musical influences, strong lyricism, and themes for conversation. The album, as assumed by the name, delves much deeper into the problem of addiction as well, even telling the story of his mother’s own addiction.
The emergence of this album has brought to the forefront of conversation many issues kept under the rug in the black community as well as issues faced in pop culture that many have become desensitized to. Delivering great bars, J.Cole has brought hip-hop meaning and food for thought once again.
