Hip-hop star J. Cole‘s fourth studio album, and first for his own label Dreamville, 4 Your Eyez Only, has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling the equivalent of one million albums, including streams and downloads, in less than four months.
The release, which was distributed through Roc Nation/Interscope on December 9th, 2016, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 363k copies in its first week (492k with album equivalent units), the third largest weekly sales for an album in 2016. 4 Your Eyez Only was certified gold by the RIAA January 12 earlier this year. All four of J. Cole’s albums are now RIAA-certified Platinum or higher.
The album was preceded by a 40-minute documentary, Eyez, which debuted on Jay Z’s Tidal streaming service, including two music videos for the tracks, “False Prophets” and “Everybody Dies.”
HBO will air a film, J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only, on April 15.
The film, co-directed by Scott Lazer and Cole, provides more context to the music by capturing the frustrations of lower income residents in Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Ferguson, MO, Jonesboro, AR, and Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville, NC. In essence, how residents of those cities are being affected by the current climate. His 4 Your Eyez Only world tour will begin June 1 in Columbia, SC, and conclude December 9 in Perth, Australia.