KOD is J. Cole’s fifth studio album. The 12-track album serves as a follow up to his December 2016 album, 4 Your Eyez Only. Prior to release, Cole hosted two exclusive listening events where he played the album in full. According to Chris Uño, who was in attendance at J. Cole’s surprise listening party at New York’s Gramercy Theatre, the title “KOD” can be interpreted in three different ways: Kids on Drugs King OverDosed Kill Our Demons The album’s release date, April 20, 2018, may be a reference to the “420” code in cannabis culture, which includes smoking at 4:20 p.m. on April 20th (4/20). The album’s cover art, the title’s meanings, and the frequent mention of drug use in lyrics of songs support this notion. Chris Uño also reported that the album was recorded in the span of two weeks, and contains no features, making it his third album in a row to not contain guest features. This report turned out to be somewhat true. The album’s only listed feature is kiLL edward, who turned out to actually be J. Cole, pitched down. Cole’s brother, Zach, revealed that, growing up, their ex-stepfather’s name was Edward. Cole’s alter ego, “kiLL edward,” may be an allusion to the abuse that their stepfather inflicted upon their mother. In Window Pain (Outro) Cole raps: All I wanna do is kill the man that made my momma cry Following the listening party, Cole took to Twitter to announce the album. The album art and tracklist were revealed on April 18th, two days before the album released.