A rap superstar reckons with fame and the culture that made him

J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only took the rapper from celebrated hitmaker to full-on activist. On KOD, his ruminations on black America and the state of the union are still present, but are less objective reporting and more acquired wisdom from his life as a reluctant superstar. Cole takes rap pundits to task with impassioned, staccato delivery on the title track. And on “Photograph,” he questions the nature of romance in the digital age. KOD's production is minimal throughout, clearing space for Cole's elegantly spun stories of opportunistic friends (“The Cut Off”), modern-day drug culture (“Once an Addict”), and the guilt that success can bring (“FRIENDS”).