On April 19, 2018, Cole released the album's trailer. The album's title carries three different meanings: Kids on Drugs, King Overdosed, and Kill Our Demons. He told me what direction he was going in and then he gave me freedom to portray it how I wanted." You're going to have to listen to the album. Sixmau told Vibe magazine: "I can't talk much about his vision. Cole discovered Sixmau through singer and producer Childish Major, for whom he was doing art. The cover art was done by Detroit artist Kamau Haroon, known artistically as Sixmau. Artwork and title Ĭole revealed the album's cover art on April 18, 2018. He released The Off-Season in 2021, and plans to release The Fall Off later on. Before recording KOD, Cole was working on an album titled The Fall Off, which he plans to release in the future. The final version of the album took an additional 6 months. According to Cole, he went back to the drawing board to perfect the final three songs. Like looking at a menu, I’ll have that again." The majority of the album was initially recorded over a span of two weeks while Cole was on the 4 Your Eyez Only Tour and while on vacation in Italy and Tanzania, Cole recorded three songs while on tour, and another six while on vacation. Cole further explained saying: "Kendrick's show gave me chills because I got to see what it was like to have a hit album performed, and it set off a desire, it was a recognition - like, oh, I’ll take that again. He said watching Lamar's performance reminded him of 2014 Forest Hills Drive. In an interview with Vulture, Cole said that the seed for KOD was planted at rapper Kendrick Lamar's concert in Detroit for his Damn Tour in 2017. HipHopDX, HotNewHipHop and Uproxx named it the best hip hop album of 2018. KOD appeared on several music publications' mid-year and year-end lists. The album also debuted at number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. The album has since been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). KOD received positive reviews from critics and debuted atop the US Billboard 200, selling 397,000 album-equivalent units in its first week (174,000 coming from pure sales), earning Cole his fifth consecutive number-one album in the country. In August 2018, Cole embarked on the KOD Tour to promote the album. The album was supported by two singles: " KOD" and " ATM", both of which debuted in the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album explores a variety of topics including drug abuse, addiction, depression, greed, African-American culture, and taxation in the United States. Cole has stated that the production and rhyme schemes used throughout the album were inspired by SoundCloud rap. The album incorporates elements of jazz rap and trap. The majority of the album's production was handled by Cole himself, along with others such as T-Minus, Mark Pelli, BLVK and Ron Gilmore. It was released on Apthrough Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. KOD (an initialism for Kids on Drugs, King Overdosed and Kill Our Demons) is the fifth studio album by American rapper J.