Dying to Live (Kodak Black album)

Dying to Live
Studio album by Kodak Black
Released	December 14, 2018 (2018-12-14)
Recorded	2018
Length	47:47
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Ben Billions Blasian D. A. Doman Diablo Dyryk Ian McKee Jake One Kaixen Leon Thomas London on da Track Major Nine Natra Average Nik Dean RBP Rex Kudo Rippa on the Beat SkipOnDaBeat Snapz Southside Youngin’ Chriso
Kodak Black chronology
Heart Break Kodak (2018) Dying to Live (2018) Bill Israel (2020)
Singles from Dying to Live
"If I'm Lyin, I'm Flyin" Released: September 28, 2018 "Zeze" Released: October 12, 2018 "Take One" Released: November 16, 2018 "Calling My Spirit" Released: November 30, 2018 [1]

Dying to Live is the debut studio album by American rapper Kodak Black. ^[2] It was released on December 14, 2018, via Atlantic Records. ^[3] It follows his Heart Break Kodak mixtape, released earlier in 2018, as well as his previous mixtape, Project Baby 2: All Grown Up , the deluxe edition of his mixtape Project Baby 2, released in 2017. ^[4] The album features guest appearances from Lil Pump, Travis Scott, Offset and Juice Wrld. ^[5]

Background

On November 25, 2018, Kodak Black announced via Twitter that he would be releasing his second studio album the following month. ^[6] Black wrote on social media that "Yung Nigga Been Getting Money... I Did Everything The Streets Glorified #AlbumDropping Next Month." ^[7] The album is Black's first following his release from jail in August. ^[8]

On December 11, 2018, Kodak Black shared the album's tracklist. ^[9]

Promotion

The album's lead single, "If I'm Lyin, I'm Flyin" was released on September 28, 2018, along with the music video. ^[10]

The second single, "Zeze" featuring Travis Scott and Offset was released on October 12, 2018. The music video was released on November 23, 2018. ^[11]

The third single, "Take One", was released on November 16, 2018, and the fourth single, "Calling My Spirit", was released on November 30, 2018. ^{[12] [13]} The music video for "Calling My Spirit" was released on December 5, 2018. ^[14]

The first two promotional singles, "Testimony" and "MoshPit" featuring Juice Wrld was released on December 8, 2018, and December 12, 2018, respectively. ^{[15] [16]} The music video for "Testimony" was released on December 10, 2018. ^[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[18]
HipHopDX	4.0/5 [19]
The Music Outlook	4/5 [20]
NME

Dying to Live received generally positive reviews from music critics.

HipHopDX said of the album, "Dying to Live" is an imperfect window into a troubled soul. At times, it's unclear whether Kodak is being honest or disingenuously begging for sympathy. Even if it's carefully executed and shows artistic growth, the album's mature subject matter is overshadowed by Kodak's alleged history." ^[19]

Commercial performance

Dying to Live debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 119,000 album-equivalent units (of which 5,000 were pure album sales). It is Kodak Black's first number-one album on the chart. ^[21]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[22]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Testimony"	Bill Kapri Chad Thomas	Major Nine	4:00
2.	"This Forever"	Kapri London Holmes Masamune Kudo Leon Thomas	Thomas London on da Track Rex Kudo	2:41
3.	"Identity Theft"	Kapri Ricardo Toussaint	Rippa on the Beat Youngin' Chriso [a]	2:07
4.	"Gnarly" (featuring Lil Pump)	Kapri Gazzy Garcia Derek Garcia Julian Munro Sebastian Leon	Dyryk Diablo Kaixen [a]	3:06
5.	"Zeze" (featuring Travis Scott and Offset)	Kapri Jacques Webster II Kiari Cephus David Doman Christina Gandy-Rodgers Justin Thomas Marcus Prince	D. A. Doman	3:48
6.	"Take One"	Kapri Benjamin Diehl	Ben Billions	2:45
7.	"MoshPit" (featuring Juice Wrld)	Kapri Jarad Higgins Christopher Gibbs Edgar Ferrera	Natra Average SkipOnDaBeat	2:44
8.	"Transgression"	Kapri D. Garcia Ian McKee Russell Pochop	Dyryk McKee RBP	2:15
9.	"Malcolm X.X.X."	Kapri Kenneth Hirsch Malcolm X Marti Sharron	Major Nine	3:15
10.	"Calling My Spirit"	Kapri Jacob Dutton Joshua Luellen	Jake One Southside	2:32
11.	"In the Flesh"	Kapri Diehl Nick Dean Niko Varv	Ben Billions Blasian Snapz Nik Dean [a]	3:08
12.	"Close to the Grave"	Kapri Lester Williams	LBeats	3:41
13.	"From the Cradle"	Kapri Williams	LBeats	3:11
14.	"If I'm Lyin, I'm Flyin"	Kapri Diehl Harold Thomas Lee Jones	Ben Billions	2:10
15.	"Needing Something"	Kapri C. Thomas	Major Nine	3:12
16.	"Could of Been Different"	Kapri Brett Bailey D. Garcia Munro	Beats Bailey Clips Ahoy Dyryk Kaixen	3:12
Total length:				47:47

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an uncredited co-producer
• "Zeze" is stylized in all caps

Sample credits

• "Malcolm X.X.X." contains a sample from "No One in the World", written by Kenneth Hirsch and Marti Sharron, as performed by Anita Baker.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[22]

Technical

• Derek "Dyryk" Garcia – mixing (tracks 2–4, 6–16)
• Jacob Richards – mixing (track 5)
• Jaycen Joshua – mixing (track 5)
• Mike Seaberg – mixing (track 5)
• Rashawn McLean – mixing (track 5)
• Chris Athens – mastering (all tracks)
• Chris Ulrich – engineering (all tracks)
• Drew Drucker – engineering (all tracks)
• Jamie Peters – engineering (all tracks)
• Tyler Unland – engineering (all tracks)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018–19) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [23] 93 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [24] 99 Canadian Albums (Billboard) [25] 5 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [26] 28 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [27] 17 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [28] 36 French Albums (SNEP) [29] 146 Irish Albums (IRMA) [30] 93 Latvian Albums (LAIPA) [31] 16 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [32] 21 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [33] 39 UK Albums (OCC) [34] 74 US Billboard 200 [21] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [35] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position US Billboard 200 [36] 33 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [37] 19

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [38]	Gold	10,000‡
United States (RIAA) [39]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Jahmal, Karlton (November 30, 2018). "Kodak Black Comes Through With 'Calling My Spirit'". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2018-12-02.
2. Arcand, Rob (November 24, 2018). "Kodak Black Announces New Album 'DYING TO LIVE', Shares Video for "ZEZE (ft. Travis Scott & Offset)"". Spin . Retrieved November 27, 2018.
3. Ch, Devin (November 25, 2018). "Kodak Black's "DYING TO LIVE" Album Drops December 14". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
4. "Kodak Black Reveals 'Dying to Live' Tracklisting". Rap-Up. December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
5. A., Aron (December 11, 2018). "Kodak Black's "Dying To Live" Tracklist Features Lil Pump, Travis Scott & More". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
6. TV News Desk (November 23, 2018). "Kodak Black Announces New Album, 'Dying to Live'". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved November 27, 2018.
7. Coleman, Vernon (November 25, 2018). "Kodak Black's New Album Arrives in December". XXL . Retrieved November 27, 2018.
8. Ivey, Justin (November 25, 2018). "Kodak Black Announces "Dying To Live" Album". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
9. Galbraith, Alex (December 11, 2018). "Kodak Black Shares 'Dying To Live' Tracklist". Complex . Retrieved December 13, 2018.
10. Montes, Patrick (September 28, 2018). "Kodak Black Debuts First Post-Prison Music Video, "If I'm Lyin, I'm Flyin"". Hypebeast. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
11. Kreps, Daniel (November 23, 2018). "Watch Kodak Black's Travis Scott-Directed 'Zeze' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
12. Jahmal, Karlton (November 16, 2018). "Kodak Black Creeps Over The Bass Rattling Banger "Take One"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
13. Jahmal, Karlton (November 30, 2018). "Kodak Black Comes Through With "Calling My Spirit"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
14. A., Aron (December 5, 2018). "Kodak Black Drops The Trippy "Calling My Spirit" Music Video". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
15. Maduakolam, Emmanuel (December 8, 2018). "Kodak Black Shares His "Testimony" on New Song". Hypebeast. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
16. Price, Joe (December 12, 2018). "Kodak Black and Juice WRLD Link for "MoshPit"". Complex. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
17. Zidel, Alex (December 10, 2018). "Kodak Black Embraces Religious Imagery In "Testimony" Video". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
18. Kalia, Ammar (January 4, 2019). "Kodak Black: Dying to Live review – preachy rapper hits a dead end". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 April 2025.
19. Spielberger, Daniel (December 31, 2018). "Review: Consider Kodak Black's "Dying To Live" A Compelling Cry For Help". HipHopDX . Retrieved 7 April 2025.
20. "Review: Kodak Black: Dying To Live". Medium. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
21. Caulfield, Keith (December 23, 2018). "Kodak Black Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 With 'Dying to Live'". Billboard. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
22. "Bars Mitzvah / BLP Kosher – TIDAL". Tidal . Retrieved August 4, 2023.
23. "ARIA Chart Watch #504". auspOp. December 22, 2018. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
24. "Ultratop.be – Kodak Black – Dying to Live" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
25. "Kodak Black Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
26. "Danishcharts.dk – Kodak Black – Dying to Live". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
27. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kodak Black – Dying to Live" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
28. "Kodak Black: Dying to Live" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
29. "Lescharts.com – Kodak Black – Dying to Live". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
30. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kodak Black". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
31. "Mūzikas patēriņa topa 51.nedēļa" (in Latvian). LAIPA. December 27, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
32. "Norwegiancharts.com – Kodak Black – Dying to Live". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
33. "Swedishcharts.com – Kodak Black – Dying to Live". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
35. "Kodak Black Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
36. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
37. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
38. "Danish album certifications – Kodak Black – Dying to Live". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved July 29, 2023.
39. "American album certifications – Kodak Black – Dying to Live". Recording Industry Association of America.