Rapid flow changes, quick witty lines filled with clever lyrics and a distinct tone of voice are some of the identifying features of rapper Destin Choice Route also known as J.I.D or JID. On Aug. 30, 2022 he released The Forever Story, his third studio album under Dreamville Records.

JID was signed to the American record label Dreamville Records, founded by fellow rapper Jermaine Cole (J. Cole) and manager Ibrahim Hamad, in Feb. 2017. A few months later, he would release his debut album The Never Story, and be praised for his unique style of rapping and pure technical skill.

Prior to his newest album, JID teased its release by dropping two singles that would appear on the album, “Dance Now” and “Surround Sound”.

The Forever Story is an introspective album that gives insight about JID’s upbringing and family life, which is more than anything he has previously shared in other albums and singles.

The album is very refreshing and has a large neo soul influence heard in the instrumentals and melodies on the album. JID’s unique style and cadence shines, as he changes his tone of voice constantly throughout the album to fit the feeling of different songs.

JID showcases a lot of his own singing ability on the album, especially on the song “Kody Blu 31” in which he sings through a majority of the song.

He also shows a large amount of vulnerability on the album by talking about his family and how they’ve affected his mindset and growth as both an artist and a person. Multiple recordings of his family can be heard in the album.

The production is excellent and all of the beats made for the album match JID’s intention for the song’s mood. On some tracks they also experiment with the pitch and distortion of his voice and that gives an uncommon sound that you don’t hear in hip-hop songs often.

While JID does introduce a new sound for this album that makes it different from any of the previous ones, fans that preferred his more recognizable style of fast-rapping will not be disappointed as he still shows it off in songs like “Raydar” and “Just In Time”.

A good amount of features appear on the album, with rappers like JID’s fellow Dreamville signees rap duo Earthgang, Lil Durk, Lil Wayne and Yasiin Bey, previously known as Mos Def. And singers, like Ari Lennox, James Blake and Ravyn Lenae.

Six days before the release of The Never Story, JID released “2007”, the original ending track of the album. This song touches on his life before he became a rapper, and how circumstances in his life would make him turn from being a college football player to the artist he is now. Included in the song are spoken words from his father, Carl Louis Route Jr. and J. Cole.

Although it was removed from the album, the way the song describes his origin of becoming a rapper and defines his influences in life makes the theme of ‘forever’ stand out. It gives an optimistic view on his career, as this is only the beginning of his story.

Overall, the album is very satisfying for the JID fans who have been waiting since his last album in 2019, DiCaprio 2. The album flows well and doesn’t feel front or back loaded. Some songs like “Can’t Punk Me” take more than one listen to appreciate.

The Never Story provides a fresh take on JID’s style as an artist while still showing off his rapping prowess. With this 9/10 drop, it definitely has Album of the Year potential.