[REVIEW] “KOD” — J. Cole Proves Concept Albums Don’t Make Better Songs.
Current trends tell us the harder a production sounds, the better the song sounds. That’s why new age rappers gain traction so fast. They put out music that’s stupid hard, but costing meaningful lyrics. When it comes to J. Cole though, he has always favored a chill vibe in his music, more musical, story-like and deeper lyrical content. So how does he favor in his new album. Did Cole fall into the pressure of current wave trends?
On the surface it’s easy to accuse him of being lazy when looking at tracks like ATM and Motiv8. Choruses that sound like this:
Motivate (motivate), motivate (motivate)
Motivate (motivate), mo- Get money
Motivate (motivate), motivate (motivate)
Motivate (motivate), moti-get money
Motivate (motivate), motivate (motivate)
Motivate (motivate), mo- Get money
Motivate (motivate), motivate (motivate)
Motivate (motivate), moti-get money
They don’t help much, and with repetitive and sparse production that lack melodies, some even say Cole is passing his prime by putting out boring tracks. The same reaction were made for his previous album 4 Your Eyez Only.
Except that album had most mature lyrics he’s ever released. In fact I would say 4 Your Eyez Only had the realest musical style that Cole put out. He made it exactly how he wanted without pressures of trends, fans or labels. He had no other reason to do it other than to make it for Nina. Cole’s style was 100% authentic because he had an opportunity to take on the role of teacher, which is what he’s always enjoyed.
KOD follows a similar manner with the same minimal vibe and Cole advising new age rapper and friends from the ville. So anyone that complains he still sounds boring should really understand this is his style. Not every artist needs to sound hard and follow trap trends.
With this in mind, Cole’s new album still has bad tracks. Not because they are boring or slow, but because they lack the lyrical depth. It’s really the first half that concerns me. On Saturday I told my friend, “his tracks could have used more features.” A running joke, but we know all good jokes contain true shit. So why is Cole doing this?
For an artist as big as J. Cole we put much more value in the why behind their music. This explains the reasons Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly was successful. It’s because Kendrick gave us lots of reasons to conceptually circle-jerk the album, despite the fact that the music has little replay value. Good Kid mAAd City is a better album. Some might get defensive reading this, but the fact you might have this reaction is the point. The real question is, how much value should the concept of an album have over replay-ability, over production, or lyrics? I don’t believe it has more value than any of those.
Anyone familiar with Cole’s discography is immediately thrown off by the first half of this album. It’s because the first half is mostly shit, except for KOD. We don’t want to believe that Cole could be falling off, so we believe he intentionally made repetitive low quality lyrics over trap beats. It’s almost as if he wanted to show soundcloud rappers he can do a better job at their own game. His attempt failed. Listen to Gucci Gang and then listen to ATM. I would never put on ATM at a party since it would kill the vibe. So this tells us that Cole can’t make new age hype tracks even if he wanted to. Cole has put himself in a spot where he made songs that are neither good trap songs nor good J. Cole songs.
It’s no surprise this album is for the new generation. The album art is obvious. It touches on different vices and how to navigate out of those traps (heh). It ironically communicates newer music trends and how Cole feels about mainstream pressure. I just think Cole didn’t need to waste half an album releasing low effort tracks to prove clout culture sucks. His last track 1985, a real Cole style track, is much more effective at getting the message across than any of his ironic pieces.
We know that Cole intentionally made the first half bad because the last 5 tracks showcase much more quality and depth. BRACKETS is the start of where the album takes a massive positive turn in quality. Cole brings out the story-like verses that navigate us through underprivileged views:
I’ll write a check to the IRS, my pockets get slim
Damn, do I even have a say ‘bout where it’s goin’?
…
If I’m givin’ y’all this hard-earned bread, I wanna know
Better yet, let me decide, bitch, it’s 2018
Let me pick the things I’m funding from an app on my screen
Better that than letting wack congressman I’ve never seen
Dictate where my money go, straight into the palms of some Money-hungry company that make guns that circulate the country And then wind up in my hood, making bloody clothes
Tracks like Once An Addict have him reopening old wounds from his mother’s alcoholism. This is the first time Cole dives deep into this part of this life. Older tracks from Forest Hill Drive like Love Yourz briefly touch on her alcoholism:
So tell me, Momma please, why you be drinkin’ all the time?
Does all the pain he brought you still linger in your mind
The track Apparently from the same tape has him mending the relationship with his mother. This time Cole rips open the past on Once An Addict. This shows he sees his message as an artist so important that he’s willing to dwell on a crippling past.
Mama cursing me out
Depression’s such a villainous state
I used to stay out later on purpose
Subconsciously I was nervous that if I came home early then what would surface was her inner demons
And then I’d have to end up seein’ my hero on ground zero
Tears flow while Al Green blow
This is what Cole still sees moving back to the ville. He watches the same patterns in the new generation. FRIENDS has a concerned Cole spitting heat for 3 minutes straight on the affects of drug addiction and depression. He almost chokes in the end of the track.
There’s all sorts of trauma from drama that children see
Type of shit that normally would call for therapy
But you know just how it go in our community
Keep that shit inside it don’t matter how hard it be
Fast forward, them kids is grown and they blowing trees
And popping pills due to chronic anxiety
1985 is the closest to a diss track Cole makes to new age rappers, maybe even to Lil Pump directly. Except it wasn’t even a diss. Most rappers rap about other rappers with insults, hardly ever from a place of love. Cole choose to change this narrative by rapping like a total alpha dad giving their child life advice. He’s taken the same advice he gives, and ever since letting Nas down he’s stayed true to himself favoring the long term play.
Score
3/5 I find it interesting that Cole takes on the alternate persona of kiLL edward as a soundcloud rapper and released generic trap songs that are just barely substantive. The concept of the album is intriguing, but the execution has fallen just as flat as his production. 4 Your Eyez Only had much more dynamic production in tracks like Change. KOD just doesn’t have the same quality for the first half. The last half however is amazing. It carries the vibe of 4 Your Eyez Only and bumps up the storytelling.
