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Four years have passed since JID’s last album release, and the rapper has evidently used his time away to sharpen his craft and prepare for his future steps to becoming one of hip-hop’s most unique artists.

“The Forever Story” rollout started in January with the single “Surround Sound,” but JID announced the official album along with its release date this summer. The single featured 21 Savage and Baby Tate, an unexpected feature combination on a song, but one that stirred audience interest.

He released his second single, “Dance Now,” which featured fellow Atlanta rapper Kenny Mason, ahead of the album as well. Mason is another emerging star who broke out in 2020 after the release of his debut album, “Angelic Hoodrat.”

Album Overview
JID released his full album in late August. It has a 15 song tracklist, an ideal number of songs for an album, and includes some of the industry’s biggest artists, such as Lil Wayne, Lil Durk, and fellow Dreamville duo EARTHGANG.

The whole album flows together, between lyrical heavy tracks and radio hits. Both “Surround Sound” and “Dance Now” were made as exciting pre-album drops that built up to “The Forever Story,” but many of the other tracks included in the album exhibit JID’s storytelling expertise.

He uses the album as a platform to dive into his family’s history and rise in the music industry, starting from people saying he could never make it big, to having his music being remembered forever, hence the name Forever Story.

Standout Tracks
Track two, “Raydar,” immediately fit into JID’s catalog. Across the track, JID displays his versatility and hidden messages in his lyrics.

The lyrics, “They got the people in office, them crackers that had us in chains, they make the laws, they goin’ hard, dang, they even started a gang,” take jabs at the United States government and the controversial changes within our country’s Supreme Court.

“Raydar ” dives deep into struggles black people face on a daily basis, such as the government, gun violence and their community’s place in today’s society.

“Crack Sandwich,” the fourth song in the album, is story-driven and goes through JID’s childhood growing up with his six siblings. His clever wordplay over a slow-paced piano instrumental details step-by-step his experiences in a New Orleans bar fight. Listeners can easily to get lost in this track, forgetting any pieces of the outside world and sinking into JID’s shoes during his younger years.

The name “Crack Sandwich” refers to his parents saying they did not have money to eat out or purchase healthier options for JID and his six siblings. The rapper describes his parents saying, “I ain’t got cheeseburger money, make a sandwich.” He goes on to call himself and his six siblings “crackheads,” a term that refers to someone who is broke from their addiction to crack cocaine, but works at full speed to accomplish tasks throughout their day, almost like they are running on crack.

The audience needs to listen to “Crack Sandwich” multiple times to decode its full story, but it is probably the best song on the album.

“Bruddanem,” which features Chicago rapper Lil Durk, revolves around the value of having your friends’ backs. In the chorus, JID states, “my brothers ride through.” The song explores different ways JID would “slide” for his family and friends, or have their backs in troublesome situations.

Lil Durk refers to his cousin’s passing in the song as well. Listeners can tell that this is not some money grab feature for Lil Durk, and that he actually put his pain from losing someone close to him into the verse. The more high pitch vocals from JID and Lil Durk compliment each other very well, and the two artists’ collaboration could bear more fruit in the future.

The background vocals and sample in “Kody Blu 31”stood out as well. The chanting at the start of the song is a recording of JID’s family during his grandmother’s funeral, who put their heart and soul into the strong gospel lyrics.

Despite the song’s short length, the beginning sample and sentimental value in “Kody Blu 31” make it one of the project’s most meaningful tracks.

The Forever Story is out now!! Tell me what u think because I really care

A photo posted by jidsv

Final Thoughts
The overall layout and flow of the album, from transitions to the lyrics, made this one of best albums of 2022 so far.

Every track had its own unique storyline, hooking listeners through the uplifting intro, “Galaxy,” to the slower paced final two tracks in “Better Days” and “Lauder Too.” “The Forever Story” could very well be an album of the year candidate come December, and JID has clearly cemented himself as one of the top members of the rap game.

It is safe to say he has yet to miss on an album — even his collaboration projects,“Spilligion,” “D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape” and “Revenge of the Dreamers III,” which was one of 2019’s biggest albums, are solid.

JID is now deep into the industry, and will continue to be a big name to watch for years to come. Though this is his biggest album to date, it is only a glimpse into a bright future for the Dreamville star.

Published on September 6, 2022 at 10:39 pm