Meaning of “ATM” by J. Cole

“ATM” is a song performed by American hip hop recording artist J. Cole. Contrary to what fans initially thought, the abbreviation “ATM” isn’t for Automated teller machine but rather for the phrase “Addicted to Money”. Cole himself disclosed this on Twitter shortly after the song was released. The lyrics of “ATM” center mainly on mankind’s crazy obsession with making lots of money.

Facts about “ATM”

• “ATM” was entirely written by Cole himself.
• The song’s production was primarily handled by Cole, along with the multi platinum American music producer Deputy. In addition to working with Cole, Deputy has worked with other greats like Rihanna and Wale.
• The song came out on April 20, 2018 as the 5th track from Cole’s 5th studio album titled KOD. According to Cole, the abbreviation KOD stands for the following: King Overdosed, Kill Our Demons and Kids on Drugs. KOD was not only critically acclaimed but debuted at number one in several countries across the globe, including his home country the United States.
• The song’s music video was directed by Cole along with music video director Scott Lazer. The video was inspired by the music video of American rapper Busta Rhymes’ Grammy-nominated 1998 hit song “Gimme Some More”. Cole later took to the social media platform Twitter to say a thank you to Rhymes for the inspiration.
• Having peaked at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, this track became Cole’s highest charting song in the United States. On the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at number 28.

What musical genre is the song “ATM”?

It is purely a hip hop song.

Did “ATM” sample any song?

Yes, it did. “ATM” has a sample of the song “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” by American jazz pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal from his 1960 album Happy Moods. It is worth noting that “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” was originally written by songwriters Sammy Cahn and Nicholas Brodzsky for the 1955 biographical romantic film about the life of American singer Ruth Etting titled Love Me or Leave Me. The song was so good that it ended up receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1955.