Review: "The Forever Story" by J.I.D.

32-year old Atlanta rapper J.I.D. released his third studio album, “The Forever Story,” on Aug. 26. J.I.D. is known to be one of the best lyricists in the world right now, though people doubted if he could produce a quality album. They were proven wrong after the release of “The Forever Story.”

Throughout the album, J.I.D. reflects on past trauma, family battles and his football career. Coming back home after dropping out of college, he got into an argument with his father which was narrated by his dad in the track “2007.” The second track, “Raydar,” experimented with three beat switches where it seems J.I.D. is just having fun flowing effortlessly over varying beats.

One of J.I.D.’s best skills is his flow; he has some of the best rhymes in the world. On the fifth track, “Can't Punk Me,” featuring EARTHGANG, he shows his incredible rapping ability, speeding up, then slowing it down with “You heard that? You like that? You feel that? You do.” In the song, “Crack Sandwich,” J.I.D. reflects on an encounter at a club with his family after his brother's graduation. He vividly describes the moments where he is sitting at the V.I.P. table and sees a man swing at his sister, leading to his whole family getting into a brawl on the street.

The outro “2007,” which is not on streaming platforms due to sample clearance issues, clocks in at over seven minutes long and is a complete retelling of his life. The song details how J.I.D. was playing Division I football at Hampton University when his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. He felt like he had to come back home with some money to help his family, leading to him losing his scholarship for stealing. J.I.D. then started making music after dabbling with it while playing football in college. “2007” is a perfect example of what an outro should look like and is one of the best tracks on the whole album.

“The Forever Story” has cemented J.I.D.’s name in the music industry as one of the best hip hop creators. This album has been getting very high remarks and reviews online and is definitely in the conversation for best of the year. J.I.D.’s “The Forever Story” is deserving of a 9/10 rating.