Passwords

J. Cole wrote much of KOD on holiday, with no guest but a pitched-down alter ego. Its most praised songs share its flaws, and most of the rest runs flat.

Portugal. The Man scrapped three years of sessions, started over as the 2016 campaign turned ugly, and found “Feel It Still” in a 45-minute break.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z close the trilogy begun by Lemonade and 4:44 with a joint album that gives the marriage two songs and the money and status almost all the rest.

The Weeknd scrapped a finished album and made these six songs in about three weeks. The guest producers bring the ideas; the songs mostly replay his past.

Ariana Grande began her fourth album with Pharrell before Manchester and finished it after. It is a record about healing that keeps telling jokes.

Ariana Grande made her fifth album with friends in about two weeks in New York. Its best song is the quietest one, and the one she wanted left off.