J. Cole Scores Fifth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart & Biggest Week of 2018 With ‘KOD

J. Cole is back at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 this week with his new album KOD, which arrived with very little warning just over a week ago. The rapper’s latest effort begins at the top of the listing with ease thanks to 397,000 equivalent units, of which 174,000 are actual sales.

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KOD is J. Cole’s fifth No. 1 record in the U.S., and with another success to his credit, he continues his unbroken streak of winners on the chart. All five of Cole’s proper studio albums under his own name have landed at the peak of the Billboard 200, and as his credibility and fame only increases with every new album he shares, it’s likely he’ll see his career total rise to half a dozen leaders whenever he launches another collection.

J. Cole first made it to No. 1 in 2011 with Cole World: The Sideline Story, which quickly established him as a name to watch in hip-hop. He followed that triumph up two years later with another chart-topper, Born Sinner, and then repeated the feat the following year with 2014 Forest Hills Drive and again most recently in 2016 with 4 Your Eyez Only. In addition to his five No. 1 albums, the rapper has appeared on the Billboard 200 with a live recording (2016’s Forest Hills Drive: Live From Fayetteville, NC, No. 71) and a compilation of tracks performed by the artist himself and others signed to his record label Dreamville Records (2015’s Revenge of the Dreamers II, No. 29).

KOD wasn’t promoted with any singles, and the musician himself only revealed it was coming a few days before it actually arrived. After sparking speculation about new tunes by switching up the imagery on his social media channels last week, he performed the title in full at a listening session in New York City on April 16 and shortly after he stepped off stage confirmed to the world on Twitter that his fifth album would drop at the end of the week.

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While none of the 12 songs featured on KOD have charted on the Hot 100 yet (as none of them were released prior to the album being uploaded to streaming platforms and download stores), there’s a pretty good chance that several of them, if not every single song on Cole’s latest offering, will make its way to the all-encompassing singles tally, which is an accomplishment he has managed before.

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J.Cole is also hosting his inaugural Dreamville Festival, a new one-day music festival at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 15. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. tomorrow prices ranging from $59 USD to $99 USD.