J. Cole is a force to be reckoned with.
For the second time in his career, one of the "Motiv8" rapper's albums has gone platinum with zero features. Cole's April-released project KOD was recently certified platinum, which means it's garnered over one million album equivalent units since its April 20 release. J's last feature-less album to go platinum was his December 2016 released project 4 Your Eyez Only.
Ironically, the North Carolina rapper, who prides himself on holding the reigns of his own career, was recently nominated for a 2019 Grammy award for his collab track with 6lack, "Pretty Little Fears."
News of Cole's album certification comes amid rumors the "Power Trip" rapper is working on a new album. Earlier this month, Cole’s alter ego kiLL Edward tweeted (yes, his alter ego has a Twitter account) that an album was on the way. "my album coming don't think i forgot," he — who is assumedly J. Cole/kiLL Edward — wrote.
J. Cole has been teasing fans with new music for months. Just after J dropped KOD he blessed the world with a new track while also hinting at his next project.
The "FRIENDS" rapper released his KOD-following track titled "Album Of The Year (Freestyle)," along with its corresponding music video, back in August. The song, which proclaimed Cole's KOD album as the album of the year, features Cole rapping over the beat of Nas' "Oochie Wally."
Cole kicked off the track's music video, which was directed by Simon David, with a message to his fans that read, "What you are about to witness is a master class on preparation. THE OFF-SEASON," which many fans assumed was a tease for his next project.
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