The trajectory of hip hop music has changed drastically in the past couple years. With the arrival of new and revolutionary albums such as Damn by Kendrick, the entire hip hop community has followed behind and started to release albums with more meaning than simply sex, drugs and rock and roll. J. Cole continues this trend, but doesn't merely follow it, he adds to it in a way that reflects his artistic identity and beliefs. Make sure not to hit shuffle when listening to this album, in continuing with the trend of narrative style works, J. Cole’s new album is in a chronological style, with different classical influences like interludes and intros and outros. It really gives a more clean and polished look and feel to the album overall.

When following J. Cole’s career, it is interesting to see the shift in his type of music and his sound. I can remember an 8th grade Margaret dancing to “Work Out” not really understanding the subtext of the song. His earlier career consisted of following the traditional rap subjects: sex, money, and fame. However, his evolution in his Forest Hills Drive shifted from this to a more personal level. Whether it was "no role modelz" talking about his plights in life and how he didn’t have anyone to sway his actions, or him being nervous about having sex for the first time in “wet dreamz” it really gave us some insight into the mind and psyche of Cole. In his new album, KOD, he dives even deeper into his experiences in the world, with the overall messages and alarming situations appearing in society today.

The jazz influenced intro song sets up the mood from a traditional hip/hop and rap beat into something more. With the female narrating about how a baby would communicate with the world, “laughter” or “crying”, which shows the fundamental emotions all humans fear. Joy and fear, and how everything stems from these two emotions. It is a concept that resonates throughout the entire album as he discusses love, fame, temptations, etc. It sets up a rhythmic bass that persists through the album.

The song the KOD, which the album is named after, is an abbreviation of “Kiss of death”. J. Cole makes the comparison that his fame, money, success, and everything that it brought has actually brought him more hardship. People are coming after him now that he is famous, and he is tired of all the unwarranted attention. The final line in the song talks about how “love is the strongest drug of all” and I have to be honest, when I heard this I chuckled a bit. It almost seems like a bit preachy and way too much of a cliche, like he is trying too hard to be edgy or different. While the song has a good beat and attempts to have a meaningful message, I do believe the preachy tone and cliche messages are a bit too much and it feels like I am being taught how to live not inspired to live differently.

Right now the album is breaking many records on Apple music. According to CNET, “J. Cole's KOD snags title from Drake for most-streamed album. More people in the US listened to the rap album on Apple Music and Spotify in its first 24 hours than any other.” Showing that obviously his work is resonating with the public and being heard. J Cole is known for being very lyrically sound and a master wordsmith, however, I am on the fence on the album. While the message is strong and clear, all the songs tend to blend together, whether that be the intention or not. I did like the storytelling style, but besides KOD, there wasn’t one song that really stood out. On Kendrick’s Damn album, one could easily point out songs they love from the first few notes, however in this one, I think the individual nature of each song is lost in the overall composition of the album. However, I do like the sound of the album, and I do believe it highly showcases the intensity and ability of J. Cole as an artist. I will continue to listen to this album, and I look forward to more of the work J. Cole will out forward.