torresm@lopers.unk.edu
Atlanta MC and Dreamville signee JID dives deep into his family lore and what it meant to him to grow up as the youngest of seven. JID’s third studio album, “The Forever Story,” solidifies his reputation as one of this generation’s most clever wordsmiths.
JID, born Destin Choice Route, made the right choices that destined him to a path of greatness.
“I ain’t always want to be a rapper, artist or nothing like this,” JID said in an interview with Apple Music. “I’m really gifted at this, but I always wanted to be a football player, that was my whole shit.”
Although JID has moved on from his dream of playing professional football, he touches on his fondness for sport at the end of the intro song “Galaxy” with a leaked voicemail from his old college football coach. JID considered him a father away from home.
Lyrically, “The Forever Story” is an origin story of who he is, where he’s from and why he is the way he is.
He tells these stories in grave detail in songs like “Can’t Punk Me,” “Kody Blue 31” and “Can’t make U Change”.
JID gets especially emotional in “Kody Blu 31” rapping “I watched my mama lose her mama, go through drama and trauma, but had to keep her head high so we wouldn’t know.”
He talks about his heroes now turned peers on songs like “Stars” with Mos Def and “Just In time” with Lil Wayne.
JID shows his reverence for the craft in “Just In Time” with lyrics like, “Since the beginning of time I put in the time” and “What’s a modern rapper to a renaissance, I’ll be snappin till the end of time.”
He raps about his siblings on tracks like “Bruddanem” and “Sistanem”.
However, “Crack Sandwich” shows JID’s true lyricism and devotion to his seven siblings. The MC details an encounter in a bar where his sister was hit and his family fought for her together.
“We were all together like Avengers and shit,” he says “I was like seventeen swinging on any and everything.”
“The Forever Story” holds 16 tracks in total. The album is meant to be two-sided with eight tracks on one side and eight on the other.”
Unfortunately, due to sampling issues, JID’s initial release only contained 15 tracks, barring the track “2007” which details his entire musical history and significant moments in over eight minutes.
Once the sample was cleared the album was re-released with all 16 tracks making each side eight songs again. The number eight can be turned sideways and is intended to represent infinity fitting with the theme of “The Forever Story.”
The album has a star-studded feature list, featuring: Lil Wayne, 21 Savage, Ari Lennox, Earthgang, Mos Def and more.
Sonically, the album is filled with emotion-provoking melodies, a mix of fast and slow-paced songs and lyrical acrobatics that will blow your mind.Overall, “The Forever Story” earns 9.5 out of 10 Lopers.
