J. Cole Returns With Highly Anticipated "KOD" Album

J. Cole shook things up this week when he announced he had a new album on the way. As promised, the Dreamville founder has now delivered KOD, a 12-track follow-up to 2016’s 4 Your Eyez Only.

The project features two guest spots from the mysterious Kill Edward, who many believe is Cole’s alter ego.

KOD — the North Carolina-bred rapper’s fifth studio album — carries three different meanings: Kids On Drugs, King Overdose, and Kill Our Demons.

Check out the KOD album stream below and scroll further down for the cover art and tracklist.

(The original version of this article was published on April 18, 2018 and can be found below.)

Seemingly out of nowhere, J. Cole announced this week he was dropping a new studio album titled KOD on Friday (April 20). Now, the Dreamville founder has shared the cover art and tracklist for the project.

The cover art features the words “This album is in no way intended to glorify addiction” and drawings of several children sipping lean, snorting cocaine and smoking weed. In terms of guest spots, the mysterious “Kill Edward” is the sole listed feature.

The project will mark the Dreamville founder’s fifth studio album and follow-up to 2016’s 4 Your Eyes Only. 

Cole previewed the album during surprise shows in New York City on Monday (April 16) and London on Tuesday (April 17). No phones, cameras or bags were allowed inside.

This isn’t the first time Cole has dropped an album on short notice. In 2014, he released 2014 Forest Hill Drive with little to no promo and without any lead singles, and the album still went double platinum (with no features).

Check out the cover art and tracklist below.

J Cole KOD coverJ Cole KOD cover

 

J Cole KOD back coverJ Cole KOD back cover
  1. Intro
  2. KOD
  3. Photograph
  4. The Cut Off f. Kill Edward
  5. ATM
  6. Motiv8
  7. Kevin’s Heart
  8. Brackets
  9. Once An Addict (Interlude)
  10. Friends f. Kill Edward
  11. Window Pain (Outro)
  12. 1985 (Intro To The Fall Off)

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46542/title.j-cole-shares-cover-art-tracklist-for-kod-album

Is J. Cole Dissing Lil Pump On “1985”? Twitter Thinks So

J. Cole released his highly anticipated fifth studio album KOD on Friday (April 20), and fans online are already singling out the LP’s closing track — “1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’)” — for its subliminal shots.

While the song serves as a lecture of sorts for today’s new generation of so-called “mumble rappers,” many fans and commentators believe Cole is calling out one artist in particular: Lil Pump, though he doesn’t mention anyone explicitly.

“I heard one of em diss me, I’m surprised/ I ain’t trippin, listen good to my reply/ Come here lil man, let me talk with ya/ See if I can paint for you the larger picture,” Cole raps, before breaking down his intended target.

Back in April of 2017, Lil Pump teased a song titled “Fuck J. Cole” via social media. The cut — produced by fellow Florida rapper Smokepurpp — features a whole bunch of “bitch-ass” and “ugly-ass” insults toward the Dreamville Records bossman, though Purpp later explained they were just trolling.

Check out what fans had to say about Cole’s “1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’)” below.

This isn’t the first time Cole has taken a swipe at today’s new generation of rappers on wax. Back in late 2016, the North Carolina native released the diss-heavy cut, “Everybody Dies.”

“Bunch of words and ain’t sayin’ shit, I hate these rappers/ Especially the amateur eight week rappers/ Lil whatever – just another short bus rapper,” Cole spits.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46561/title.is-j-cole-dissing-lil-pump-on-1985-twitter-thinks-so

Curren$y Drops Surprise “Air Freshna” EP To Celebrate 4/20

Curren$y has released his Air Freshna EP, a surprise project in celebration of 4/20.

Air Freshna continues the veteran rapper’s annual tradition of dropping a project on “Weed Day,” a ritual that dates back to 2015 when he released Even More Saturday Night Car Tunes.

The three-track EP features no listed guest appearances. Cool Dre, Smitty Beatz and 808 Ray handle duties behind the boards.

Tomorrow night!!!!! @hobnola

A post shared by spitta_andretti (@spitta_andretti) on Apr 19, 2018 at 3:46pm PDT

Curren$y — whose 4/20 Celebration takes place at the House of Blues in New Orleans on Friday night (April 20) — teased the project via Twitter a few hours before its midnight release on SoundCloud.

Air Freshna serves as Curren$y’s third project of 2018, following his previously released mixtapes The Spring Collection and Parking Lot Music, which he dropped in February and March, respectively.

Earlier this month, Curren$y announced his collaborative EP with producer Harry Fraud — titled The Marina — will drop on May 30.

Curren$y’s upcoming studio album Back At Burnie’s was set to arrive on March 16, but a delay has seen the project pushed back in his release schedule.

Check out the stream, cover art and tracklist for Air Freshna below.

Curren$y Drops “Air Freshna” EP To Celebrate 4/20Curren$y Drops “Air Freshna” EP To Celebrate 4/20
  1. Banks Statement
  2. Yehi
  3. Candles

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46562/title.curreny-drops-surprise-air-freshna-ep-to-celebrate-420

Del The Funky Homosapien Teams With Amp Live For "Gate 13" LP

Del The Funky Homosapien and Amp Live, two staples of the Bay Area Hip Hop scene, have joined forces for a collaborative album titled Gate 13. The Hieroglyphics MC and former Zion I producer’s new project features 16 tracks with guest appearances by Eligh and Goapele, among others.

“The title is alluding to opening up a way to some bad shit,” Del told HipHopDX. “Amp and I both be talking about tech shit, musical trends, how shit evolve, you know, nerding out on music. We’ve known each other for years, and got common interests as far as composing music and dissecting it.”

View the Gate 13 stream, cover art and tracklist below.

Del  Amp Live's Gate 13Del  Amp Live's Gate 13

1. Attention (Intro)
2. Wheel of Fortune
3. The Glow
4. Gravy Train
5. Funkrolla 3.0
6. Run Free f. SIMMI
7. Help f. Adult Karate
8. Humble Pie
9. Far Away
10. Far Beyond f. Goapele Zyme
11. Chili Sauce f. James Melo Mr. MICRO
12. Funkrolla 4.0
13. Sit Ya Ass Down
14. On the Ball f. Eligh
15. Get Some of Dis
16. Lateral Thinking

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46558/title.del-the-funky-homosapien-teams-with-amp-live-for-gate-13-lp

Nas Drops "Illmatic: Live From The Kennedy Center" LP

It’s been 24 years since Nas released his classic debut, Illmatic. Now, fans can enjoy it in a completely new way as the legendary MC has dropped a live version of the LP backed by the National Symphony Orchestra.

Nas performed this rendition of Illmatic with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 2014. In February, PBS aired the special concert as part of its Great Performances series.

Check out the Illmatic: Live From The Kennedy Center stream, cover art and tracklist below. Vinyl copies of the album on sale at Mass Appeal’s online store.

Nas Drops Live Version of IllmaticNas Drops Live Version of Illmatic

1. The Genesis
2. N.Y. State of Mind
3. Life’s a Bitch
4. The World Is Yours
5. Halftime
6. Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)
7. One Love
8. One Time 4 Your Mind
9. Represent
10. It Aint Hard to Tell

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46559/title.nas-drops-illmatic-live-from-the-kennedy-center-lp