It only takes one listen of J.I.D’s The Never Story to realize why J. Cole and the good people at Dreamville decided to add him to their illustrious roster. The East Atlanta spitter’s lyric-driven rap style is basically contemporary counterculture in the South; something that J. Cole himself dealt with during his slow-burning come up. In most cases these days, making out of the Atlanta scene might be easier than in most places Hip Hop hotbeds but to do so without touching a trap beat or messing with multiple layers of Auto-Tune is always impressive — or at least impressive enough to earn a Dreamville contract.
J.I.D brings a certain amount of bounce to this project but J. Cole’s conscious recluse blueprint is followed to a tee. After a brief one-minute motivational gospel croon, J.I.D puts that rap hat on and gets to work. There’s a mix of character development and aimless hater checking on “General” but a proof of talent nonetheless. “Even before grades, going to my brother court dates/And I asked my momma bout what he did but they’d never tell me/Then I figured he killed a nigga or got caught for some dope he selling” provides a dark yet discerning look into his upbringing – which then makes the unreceptive vibe of “Swear your raps so boring, nigga/Then you say you trap, you be lying nigga/I don’t fuck with none of y’all happy trappers” make a little more sense.
He really steps up his bravado on the million viewed hit “NEVER”. Christo Welch and Childish Major provide the type of hypnotic beat that has the potential to choke slam you into the sunken place. J.I.D dives deeper into his ‘perseverance despite hard times’ narrative that concludes with a “make the crowd jump like Zoboomafoo” bar, thus snapping you back to the reality that he’s still a millennial that isn’t afraid to rap about a talking lemur.
From there, he plays topical chairs just as any good debut would: females, family and friends. The former has J.I.D going full loverboy mode with diary-worthy bars where he quips “why you playing with my heart”? The latter shows up in explicit detail on “EdEddnEddy” and then on wax with Earthgang-featured, J. Cole-produced posse cut “D/vision”. These cuts, dripped in comradery contrasted to the album’s top “fuck everyone” vibe, are a little misleading especially on a major debuted aimed to give listeners a concise snapshot of who he is.
If there is one hypothesis that J.I.D wants you to walk away with after bumping The Never Story, it’s the notion that he can rap well. Which he can. The opening lines on final track “LAUDER” sum it up best: “Okay I told motherfuckers I was sick as a bitch/ Southern lyricists don’t exist like my flow is a myth”. We all know southern lyricists do in fact exist but in today’s mumble game, it’s refreshing to have him remind us with 12 tracks of crafty lyrics and crisp beats.
J.I.D brings you raw passion with powerful lyrics that can tons of people will miss do to the fact he is carving his own lane, and now following the blueprint of ATL Hip Hop ( mumble rap ). Its refreshing to hear dudes use words that paint a picture, and you most def can hear a young Cole in him
This is refreshing, dope production, unique flow and solid subject matter/wordplay.
Posting again with rating.
This is refreshing, dope production, unique flow and solid subject matter/wordplay.
Am I the only who thinks he sounds just like Kendrick??? It kinda killed the album for me.
I think he has a unique voice like Kendrick when he spits, but kendricks voice is more pleasent to the ear.
Horrible voice, horrible lyrics, horrible beats, horrible album.
He’s definitely got potential and we need more lyrical MCs out the south. Can’t wait for Cy Hi who’s also from ATL, T.Y.E out of Dallas and Translee from Alabama to drop. Support quality Hiphop y’all
It’s really hard to listen to the project because of his voice. God bless though… as long as he has a fan base he should be good.
his voice grows on you. I think he sounds like the birth-child of K.dot and Vince Staples. persevere!
Great album. Dude is a lyrical savage.
This is a really solid album w/ playback quality without a doubt. This dude is gonna be really nice. Great lyrics, great flows, the beats are nice (especially 2 prod. by J. Cole). He actually has lyrical talent compared to the other trash out of ATL besides CYhi. I bought the album, thoroughly enjoyed it. Dude even tweets back at ppl, that’s real. Dreamville has a great ear for talent and this just proves it further. I’d say at least a 4.35/5 rating. Def check this album out if you haven’t. Sounds like a young Kendrick/Cole.
Great listen from front to back.
definitely a solid album!
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Solid debut from a new artist I was pleasantly surprised to hear what came out of the headphones. Shout out to DEHH for putting a brother on to this album. To be honest I enjoyed this album front to back. More rotation in the playlist than Drakes and Ross recent output for me.
When I heard NEVER for the first time, I thought it was a new song from Missy Elliot.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM, IT IS A WORK OF ART MIXING LYRICISM WITH CATCHINESS, 5/5
this is a good start for him, but it’s not reall rememberable.
Album surprised the fuk outta me! I’ve listened to it right behind DAMN and still vibing to it. Good beards, flow on point and just a good album thets slept on!
Loved this album. Thought it was one of the best debuts I’ve heard in recent memory. Production is a bit lacking but his lyricism makes up for that easily.
This album is way past the current evolution of hip hop.
Jid has a massive vocabulary, beautiful structure manifested into pure word play.
Tells his story through riddles while keeping a vibe through the entire album almost every song id consider good. And half the album is great beautiful piece of work. Jid has the ability to combine new age with old age in this masterful work.
Album was legit!!!!
Listening to his unique style and voice, everyday is truly an honour. album is a masterpiece and look forward to his upcoming album, was at the concert in Glasgow last night where he performed a song from the album and the style and form sounds promising!
as a debut project you are exposed to great lyrics a different style from a sonic POV and an artist as diverse as you can want going from hard rap to a lost love song. great album in my opinion and a new artist to follow and put in my rotation.
5/5
Though I’m definitely biased, the album is really good, it has number of emotions and its hard all throughout the album. Every time I hear it i appreciate it as if it’s my first time listening to the album and getting surprised by this jid dude. My favourite album ever.