The Forever Story / JID / August 26, 2022
- Joshua Yoo
- Sep 19, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2022
It’s easy to forget how long JID has been working at his artistry, all over the industry on guest appearances and stellar features, yet four years since his last full-length release. But in just his third studio album, he already has a classic in the making, a body of work that encapsulates both his personal story and the full potential of his technical skill in stunning and unprecedented fashion.
Family is front and center of the thematic focus, expanding on a lot of the ideas from the preceding ‘The Never Story’ with more detail, more character, and more charisma. Whether personal narratives on “Crack Sandwich”, heartfelt messages in “Sistanem”, or social commentaries in “Raydar”, his ability to pack potent storytelling into the myriad of uniquely creative rhyme schemes and flows is practically unmatched by any of his current contemporaries.
The array of production choices from the laundry list of producers also provides JID the perfect canvases, every single track molding to his voice in an inventive (“Lauder Too”) or uplifting way (“Kody Blu 31”). And at the core of it all is his generational talent as a rapper, as perhaps nothing thoroughly and consistently showcases the sheer range, endless versatility, emotional depth, and bottomless energy more than ‘The Forever Story’, a testament to both the ability he has always possessed and the incredible amount of work he has dedicated to his craft.
The culmination of every amazing element of JID’s artistry on this album is nothing short of a tremendous feat, and yet it still manages to not feel so surprising. There’s always been a strong sense of capability that has surrounded him, a capability for unparalleled accomplishment, and he has just simply delivered on this capability. It just so happens to arrive a little earlier than expected.
Highlight(s): Bruddanem, Surround Sound, Kody Blu 31, Can’t Punk Me, Lauder Too, Sistanem, Dance Now, Raydar, Crack Sandwich, Better Days, Money, Can’t Make U Change, Stars, Just In Time
Lowlight(s): N/A
SCORE: 10/10
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