Study beats highlights the latest music releases that Howard students are listening to.
This week’s story highlights Dreamville’s Artist “JID” latest album release: “The Forever Story.”
Dreamville record’s JID released his third studio album “The Forever Story” on Aug 26. Born in East Atlanta, JID signed to J.Cole’s Dreamville records in 2017 and has become known for sharp lyricism, witty storytelling and energetic festival performances. The new album title is inspired by JID’s debut album “The Never Story” and serves as a sequel to his first studio project.
Although JID has gained much success in the music industry, becoming a rapper was not the first career choice for the artist. In fact, JID had dreams of becoming a professional football player. In 2008, the rapper was accepted into Hampton University on an NCAA Division I football scholarship but was kicked off the team and out of school just two seasons later.
“I was being a hot boy,” replied the Georgia native when asked about what got him kicked out of college during a HOT 97 radio interview. “I was just living too fast.”
While dreams of playing professional football are a pastime for JID, the relationships and passion the former player has for the sport appear multiple times throughout the album. The album’s introduction track “Galaxy” features a voice message from a disgruntled gentleman who is angry with JID for not answering his phone call. That gentleman is JID’s unnamed former football coach, a man whom the rapper considers a father figure.
By the second track which is titled “Raydar”, JID jumps straight into sharp lyrism and versatility. In the middle of the song, the beat switches into a faster pace and JID catches every beat. This is the wordplay ability that reminds the world why J.Cole invited JID to Dreamville Records. There are football references that play in the background throughout that track as well.
A common theme throughout the album is family life and JID’s experience of growing up in East Atlanta. JID allowed his fans to experience a vulnerable side of him that they don’t see often. As the youngest of seven siblings, JID has plenty of stories to tell and he used soulful melodic beats with a hint of Atlanta trap music influence to get his message across.
On the hook of the fourth track “Crack Sandwich”, JID describes learning how to survive in Atlanta and how to get through scuffles with other kids in the neighborhood.“Mama said when you fall down, stand up, get a bandage/ I ain’t got cheeseburger money make a sandwich,” he raps.
On “Sistanem,” JID becomes fully transparent about the strain fame has brought to his relationship with his siblings. “I know you got to feel the animosity brewin’/it’s getting bad and I’m sad our relationship ruined over some trash, but it’s past that,” JID says right before finding out the sibling he is addressing the message to has changed her number.
While JID is known for stellar lyricism, it was his raw storytelling ability that stood out for senior business management major Holden King from Picayune, Mississippi. “I’m a JID fan and coming into the album, I didn’t know what to think, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” states King. “Especially his storytelling on the album, I feel like we haven’t seen storytelling like this in a while. Also, his pockets for singing and rapping were great, he had strong features, but he overshadowed them on each [song] due to his flow and lyricism.”
The feature list did include heavy hitters such as Lil Wayne, Ari Lennox, 21 Savage, Yasiin Bey, Lil Durk and Johntá Austin. However, it was the production that stood out for Afro-American studies major Christiana Biruk. As a passionate JID fan, Briuk was impressed with the beat selection and believes the harmony of rapping and singing made the album “refreshing.”
“I already know when JID drops he’s not going to drop anything regular,” Briuk said. “He’s such an amazing artist. Listening to ‘The Never Story’ made me fall in love with his singing voice. I was hoping to hear his singing on the [new] album, and he delivered. It’s very refreshing to see how an artist can drop such a timeless album at a time where everything feels so saturated and repetitive, he’s very different from most artists in the industry right now.”
“The Forever Story” is available to listen to on all music streaming platforms.
Copy edited by Alana Matthew
