The Forever Story by J.I.D

When J.I.D. dropped DiCaprio 2 in 2018, he quickly became one of rap’s biggest up and coming names, which is why nobody expected him to wait four years to release his follow up. Despite an impressive run of features and singles, J.I.D. seemed hesitant to put out his next project. Now that The Forever Story has arrived, it’s clear that this happened not because of fear or writer’s block, but because of a desire for perfection, a standard that he arguably achieves. The Forever Story capitalizes on everything that made J.I.D. an interesting voice to begin with while also pushing his sound in new and unexpected directions. His established skills have only improved: tracks like “Raydar” and “Lauder Too” showcase the evolution of his head-spinning flows, songs such as “Crack Sandwich” and “Sistanem” employ his storytelling ability, and “Bruddanem” and “Surround Sound” prove he has more mainstream appeal than ever. Any artist should be satisfied with being able to sharpen their skills to this degree, but J.I.D. takes it a step further and also finds the time to explore brand new territory. This is most evident on “Kody Blu 31,” on which J.I.D. exhibits his singing skills, which are stunning enough to suggest he could have pursued a career on that alone. Every song on this album feels extremely well thought out, to the point that there is not an identifiable weak link on the tracklist. The help J.I.D. has enlisted also contributes to the impeccable quality of the album, with assistance from artists such as J. Cole, Thundercat, Lil Wayne, KAYTRANADA, Kenny Mason, Ari Lennox, and James Blake, and while all bring their respective styles in full force, none of them steal the spotlight from J.I.D. in any way. From front to back, The Forever Story is an extremely impressive showing that truly feels worth the wait, and it shows that above all else, J.I.D. understands exactly what the people want from him, even if they don’t know it yet.