It seems like everyday hip-hop artists are reaching new heights. The latest achievement comes from J. Cole, whose KOD album has now smashed Spotify and Apple Music streaming records.
According to tweets from the streaming services, Cole broke the Apple Music 24-hour record with 64.5 million streams, while gaining 36.7 million streams on Spotify, breaking its first day U.S. album streams record. The North Carolina MC also surpassed Drake’s Apple Music record for Views by almost a million streams.
Those weren’t even the only historic elements of J. Cole’s new music. The album’s opening track, “KOD,” also broke Spotify’s opening day record for streams in the U.S. The track racked up 4.2 million streams in 24 hours, surpassing Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”
While Cole has since released a video for “ATM” and “KOD” is earning all the streams, it’s the album’s outro, “1985 – (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’),” that has all the fans talking. The song finds Cole addressing hip-hop’s new generation of rappers and offering them words of advice.
Released on April 20, KOD serves as J. Cole’s follow up to his 2016 album, 4 Your Eyez Only. The project features 12 songs and includes two features from an artist named Kill Edward on the songs “The Cut Off” and “Friends.” While Kill Edward has one song out, fans assume the name is just an alter ego for Cole.
Check out the tweets from Spotify and Apple Music below.
36,656,086 streams.
0 guest features. @JColeNC’s #KOD now holds the record for most first day U.S. album streams. pic.twitter.com/Uak1moPkN4
— Spotify USA (@SpotifyUSA) April 23, 2018
It’s a #ColeWorld. @JColeNC breaks our 24 hour record with #KOD coming in at 64.5 million streams!
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) April 23, 2018.
