J. Cole fifth studio album KOD has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album has moved 397,000 equivalent album units, making it the biggest sales week of 2018 thus far, surpassing Justin Timberlake's Man Of The Woods (293,000). Of that figure, 174,000 units came through in traditional sales, making it the second-best week in that category after JT's 242,000.
It is the fifth of J. Cole's albums to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Each and every one of his previous albums topped the charts: 4 Your Eyez Only (2016), 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014), Born Sinner (2013), and Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011). Of those albums, only Born Sinner did not debut in the top spot. After coming in below Kanye West's Yeezus in 2013, the album hit No. 1 in its third week.
On top of those achievements, Cole's album is the biggest sales week for a rap album since Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. moved 603,000 units last May.
Cole's KOD single "ATM" is expected to become the rapper's second song to crack the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Currently, Cole's only song to reach those heights is 2016's "Deja Vu."
Meanwhile, the No. 2 position on the Billboard 200 is occupied by Cardi B's Invasion Of Privacy, which moves 91,000 units in its third week on the charts. Next week, Cole's album will compete with Post Malone's Beerbongs & Bentleys, which broke a Spotify streaming record set by KOD on Friday.