J.I.D – “God Does Like Ugly” review

Atlanta, Georgia emcee & singer/songwriter J.I.D releasing his highly anticipated 4th LP. Coming up 15 years ago off his debut mixtape Cakewalk & joining the Spillage Village collective lead by the EARTHGANG around that same time frame, he dropped a couple more tapes as well as DiCaprio after that & signed to J. Cole’s very own Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records in 2017. He has since made himself home there with The Never Story followed by DiCaprio 2 & more recently The Forever Story, having God Does Like Ugly precede JIDTRO fully produced by Metro Boomin’.

“YouUgly!” opens with J.I.D taking a ceiling challenge to shows he’s above his peers & a beat switch talking about not being the same as an individual tryna stand out in a crowd amongst fools whereas “Glory” produced by Lex Luger delves into his spirituality. “WRK” was a dope trap single talking about relentless hustle being required to achieve his ambitions while the crooning boom bap crossover “Community” featuring Clipse finds the trio looking back on their early days & wanting to shoot Bob the Builder.

Hearing “Walk” by Comethazine getting sampled on “Gz” was an unexpected welcome talking about car robberies while “VCRs” featuring Vince Staples continues the gangsta rap themes over a Jay Versace instrumental. “Sk8” featuring the EARTHGANG reunites the trio for an Atlanta bass cut talking about claiming your side whether it be north, south, east or west just before “What We On” featuring Don Toliver teams up for a psychedelic slow love song DJ Chase B helped put together.

6LACK appears for the tranquil “Wholeheartedly” wanting their partners to promise that they won’t ever switch up against them while “No Boo” featuring Jessie Reyez gives off a more cumbersome approach asking each other if they’re tired of being alone. After the “& We Vibing” interlude, “On McAfee” slaughters this nasty beat from Boi-1da, Vinylz & Cubeatz warning that nobody’s safe while the 3-parter “On Blue” featuring Mereba talks about finding a place to feel safe.

“K-Word” balances drumless & trap hopping over some strings to address the topic of karma prior to “For Keeps” chopping up a jazzy soul sample talking about the feeling he’s been trying to find for so long hitting him right when it seems like the mojo is gone & nothing having the ability to make him step away from the mic. The album officially finishes with an extended version of “Sun” featuring Anycia, which was previewed during his Dreamville Fest last spring.

Starting the “preluxe” run, “Behold” boisterously talks about giving 2 middle fingers in a picture so they don’t ever forget while “Beau” dustily compares himself to Rambo. “Knew Better” by the BlakkBoyz stands at the dawn of a new era while “Lisa” asks not for his high to get fucked up. “Animals” featuring Eminem fresh off the latter’s appearance in Happy Gilmore 2 with the longest reigning AEW World Champion MJF now becoming the new CMLL Mundial Peso Semicompleto Campeon and the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch reunites for a breakbeat “Fuel” sequel.

Prioritizing lyricism & artistry above everything else, God Does Like Ugly continues to exemplify J.I.D’s status as the best artist on the entire Dreamville Records roster with a supple prelude to JIDTRO & a virtuous successor to The Forever Story realizing the potential we initially heard almost a decade ago emphasizing the previous’ Christian themes. You’re still getting doses of trap, neo-soul, jazz rap & boom bap within the production except the Southeast Atlanta native’s wordplay keeps getting better with time almost a decade since his major label deal got inked.

Score: 4.5/5

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J.I.D – “The Forever Story” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from Atlanta, Georgia emcee J.I.D. Emerging in 2010 off his debut mixtape Cakewalk & joined the Spillage Village collective lead by the EARTHGANG around that same time frame, he dropped 2 more mixtapes as well as then an EP after that & signed to J. Cole’s very own Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records in 2017. He has since made himself home there with The Never Story & DiCaprio 2, but is returning after 4 long years in the form of The Forever Story.

After the melodic “Galaxy” intro, the first song “Raydar” kicks off the album with a heavy bass-line & some hi-hats provided by Nonstop da Hitman talking about how “when it rains, it pours” prior to the beat switching up into more dramatic saying he’ll “steal the cattle then burn the farm”. “Dance Now” however samples “Yoel’s Niggun” by Zusha talking about making ‘em dance with his 9 whereas “Crack Sandwich” takes a more rugged route acknowledging that you can tell that he never had shit.

The EARTHGANG tags along for the KAYTRANADA/JD Beck-laced “Can’t Punk Me” reminding everything that nothing will stop them leading into Baby Tate & 21 Savage coming into the picture for the chipmunk soul/trap banger “Surround Sound” produced by DJ Scheme talking about putting the rap game on their backs & snatching crowns. “Kody Blu 31” incorporates a crooning sample in the mix encouraging listeners to swang on, but then the Lil Durk-assisted “Bruddanem” shoots for a more mellow aesthetic thanks to DJ Khalil talking about loyalty.

Meanwhile on “Sistanem”, we have J.I.D over some spacious boom bap production describing the tour life leading into the romance-driven “Can’t Make U Change” that starts off with a funky instrumental from Dreamville in-house producer Elite & switches into a melodic vocal loop. “Stars” opens up with a hazy BADBADNOTGOOD beat & J.I.D talking about having his goals set with E. Jones changing it up into boom bap turf as well as a stellar Yasiin Bey verse for the outro while “Just in Time” with Lil Wayne takes a more symphonic approach talking about having the time today.

“Money” throws a guitar & some live drums courtesy of Khrysis into the mix confessing that’s all he really needs dissing the inaugural IWGPヘビー級王座, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan while the song “Better Days” weaves some piano chords into the chord talking about balancing the highs & lows. The closer “Lauder Too” is a futuristic sequel to a highlight off The Never Story laced by James Blake & Thundercat with the bonus cut “2007” ends the album is a 7 & a half minute epic looking back on J.I.D’s life throughout the past 15 years & it’s a shame that the sample couldn’t get cleared because it’s a great choice for a closer.

I’ve gone on record numerous times saying that J.I.D’s the future of Dreamville & if The Forever Story doesn’t further prove that, then I don’t know what to tell you because it’s a great sequel to his full-length debut & I’ll even say it’s arguably better than The Never Story. I admire that he comes through with more in-depth stories throughout, the production is incredibly dynamic & the feature list is pretty tight.

Score: 4.5/5

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Dreamville Records – “D-Day” review

This is the 4th showcase compilation from Dreamville Records. Founded in 2007 by J. Cole & his manager Ibrahim Hamad, the label has proven itself to be a dominant force in the mainstream hip hop world for the past decade with the Revenge of the Dreamers trilogy even though the last installment was a bit of a disappointment. However after giving a 24 hour notice & with Dreamville Festival returning this weekend, the crew is having DJ Drama host D-Day.

“Stick” by J.I.D, J. Cole & Sheck Wes finds the trio over a triumphant araabMUZIK & Beat Butcha instrumental talking about being strapped whereas the “Ghetto Gods Freestyle” by the EARTHGANG & 2 Chainz goes into a more skeletal direction even though I do enjoy the battle bars. “Lifestyle” by Bas & A$AP Ferg has a lot more meat on the bone thanks to Cole behind the boards with both MCs talking about the lives they live currently leading into the jazzy “Starting 5” by Cozz, Lute & Omen talking about having shooters.

Meanwhile on “Coming Down”, we get a full blown Ari Lennox solo cut asking when her mans is coming over J. Cole & Wu10 sampling Mary J. Bilge’s rendition of ”I’m Goin’ Down” just before “Hair Salon” by Cozz, G Perico & Reason finds the trio over a psychedelic Chuck Inglish beat pondering why anyone would talk shit about them. “Freedom of Speech” by J. Cole goes into chipmunk soul territory with the help of Jake One talking about the energy switching whenever he pops up, but then “Blackberry Sap” is yet another Ari Lennox solo cut that I find to be inferior to “Coming Down”.

“Like Wine” by Lute comes through with a dusty boom bap banger full of braggadocio while “Jozi Flows” by Bas & the EARTHGANG works in a flute to talk about being misunderstood. “Barry from Simpson” by J.I.D & 2 Chainz mixes some horns with snares encouraging listeners to get shit done while “Everybody Ain’t Shit” by the EARTHGANG follows it up with a fun “fuck you” anthem.

The song “Ballin’ in Newport” by Omen over a piano instrumental from Ging & !llmind while the “Big Trouble” by Cozz comes through with an impressive freestyle accompanied by samples from Doug E. Fresh, David Porter & The Trammps. The whole thing ends with “Heaven’s EP”, where Cole freestyles over the “Pipe Down” instrumental & killed it harder than Drake did.

Even though I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this compilation, I actually happen to like it more than Revenge of the Dreamers III. The production’s much better, they relied less on features given how inconsistent they were almost 3 years back & the whole roster come through with improved performances too.

Score: 3.5/5

J.I.D – “DiCaprio 2” review

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J.I.D is a 28 year old MC from Atlanta, Georgia who released his 1st mixtape Cakewalk in 2010 & joined EARTHGANG’s Spillage Village collective that same year. He dropped 2 more mixtapes as well as then an EP (to which this serves as a sequel to) after that & signed to J. Cole’s Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records last year, dropping his full-length debut The Never Story just a few weeks after the deal. But now as we reach the end of November, he’s delivering his highly anticipated sophomore album: a sequel to his 2015 EP.

After the “Frequency Change” intro, we go into the first song “Slick Talk”. Here, J.I.D brags about his skills over a haunting beat. The track “Westbrook with A$AP Ferg is a charismatic club banger with some nocturnal bells throughout while the song “Off Deez” with J. Cole sees the 2 viciously attacking their critics over a decent trap beat. The track “151 Rum” vividly describes life in the streets over a trap beat with a prominent vocal sample while the song “Off da Zoinkys” is an anti-drug anthem with a wavy instrumental. The track “Workin’ Out” vents about depression even with his newfound success over a prominently beautiful sample of Helen Merrill’s 1954 rendition of “Don’t Explain” while the song “Tiiied” with 6LACK & Ella Mai is a drab & corny love ballad.

However, the track “Skrawberries (For da Ladies)” does a better job at being romantic than the previous cut does. Especially with the mesmerizing instrumental from J. Cole & the late Mac Miller. The song “Hotbox” with Joey Bada$$ & Method Man is about smoking weed over a punchy piano instrumental rap while the track “Mounted Up” celebrates where he is now over a boom bap beat with some sinister piano chords.

The song “Just da Other Day” discusses his rise in the game over a bland trap beat while penultimate track “Despacito Too” angrily talks about being whatever he wants over this murky boom bap beat. The album then finishes with “Hasta Luego”, where J.I.D lets go or his painful past to become the artist he is know over a nocturnal beat from WondaGurl & Cubeatz.

Overall, this is just as solid as The Never Story & I’ll even say it’s better than the first DiCaprio. The production has stepped up for the most part & lyrically, J.I.D continues to prove each & every single one of us that he truly is the future of Dreamville Records.

Score: 3.5/5