The Daily Spin, November 10
JID | The Forever Story
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: The Forever Story (2022)
Artist: JID
Link:
JID’s machine-gun flow peppers, with quick lyricism and strong wit bolstering strong beats, but rarely do I feel like penetrates beyond surface depth nearly as often as I think Destin Route - called JID as a play on a childhood nickname - wants it to.
When it’s good, it’s exactly as sublime as you can imagine - JID’s ability to play on words combined with the pure rate at which he can speak makes him dangerous even on weaker tracks, and when he’s really hitting it absolutely flies. Pair this with the sampling and beatwork that has been a highlight of all of his work, especially in the time since he began working with EARTHGANG and J. Cole’s Dreamville label, and Route is a unbelievable talent at his best. Take ‘Dance Now’, a collaboration with Kenny Mason where JID goes for almost four minutes, switching flows from A to B to C with the practiced ease you might expect from someone ticking a checkbox, not altering their entire vocal style while rhyming on the fly. Truly fantastic stuff.
The rest of the album falters a bit - Lil Wayne shines on his collaboration, but Ari Lennox and Yasiin Bey feel misplaced more than anything, and a long list of collaborators bloats the album (like was the case with Indigo) more than it does anything to bring the album to new heights.
It’s an album that feels a bit like JID, though well-intentioned, has his hands in too many pies. He wants to be the kingpin of speedy flow, while handling Kendrick-esque vignettes about childhood out, wanting to cover the Black experience in America like Lamar and Staples while simultaneously needing to have the vocal chops to sing like the RnB heroes. It’s too much for one man, and it’s unfortunate that it makes this album come off like a record best described as ‘eyes too big for your stomach’.
Rating: 7.4/10
Best Tracks: Dance Now; Just In Time
Worst Tracks: Bruddanem; Sistanem