JID: ‘The Forever Story’ Review
Music is one of the most subjective kinds of art that we engage with. Everyone has different tastes and styles, so it comes as no surprise that when an award show like the Grammys comes out, people believe that their favorite song, album, artist, etc., got snubbed for not being nominated or not winning in its respective category. For me, the biggest Grammy snub of this year is The Forever Story, by JID.
After much anticipation (JID fans know what I am talking about), The Forever Story was released on August 26, 2022. On my initial listen, the first thing that I noticed was how JID did not get stylistically boxed in. The album contains an eclectic mix of punchy hip-hop beats with quick and witty bars overlayed, melodic R&B tracks, and even melancholy almost-ballads. This mix-and-match approach makes the album appealing to a wide range of listeners and makes the album infinitely re-listenable. Personally, I don’t want to listen to an album that is just 15 copies of more or less the same track. I would rather listen to an album that has depth and songs that can be applied to different moods and scenarios.
JID is highly regarded for his clever lyricism, and that quality shines through in The Forever Story. The fan-favorite bar, “Let me bare it all when I’m telling God, You know I’ma rant when I talk to Jah,” on Dance Now, demonstrates JID’s cunning lyricism. It’s a clever double entendre- “Jah” is a Rastafarian word for God, echoing the sentiment that he will be talking to God, but NBA fans can recognize the secondary reference to NBA star Ja Morant (whose first name can be heard in “Jah” and his last name in “I’ma rant”).
Another personal favorite on this album comes from “Crack Sandwich.” The lyrics go, “First take, go to first base, Stephen A. Smith Wess’ on the hip, Talkin shit like Skip, Or Shannon Sharpe shootin’ off the top of the cliff.” The first layer refers to the sports analysts Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless. Smith is an established analyst who became famous for his ESPN show, First Take, where he debated fellow analyst Bayless. The second layer refers to carrying a Smith and Wesson, a popular brand of gun, and sharp shooting with that gun.
One thing that really comes through on this album is JID’s storytelling ability, reminiscent of his mentor and frequent collaborator, J. Cole. The motif that JID reiterates throughout the track list is family; You get your first real dose of this in “Crack Sandwich,” which tells the story of JID’s relationship with his siblings. The narrative peaks when he describes a fight that broke out between his sisters and somebody else. They fought together as a family, demonstrating the familial closeness he stresses throughout the album.
“Bruddanem,” lays out JID’s relationship with his brother, and how they looked out for each other during their youth. “Bruddanem,” is followed by “Sistanem,” which details his somewhat fractured relationship with his sister. As JID gains fame and is frequently away on tour, he is unsure of how his sister views him and his actions, and her opinions impact him deeply. He expresses a longing to return to the closeness that they once shared, and stresses how much she means to him. “Better Days,” tells the story of a close childhood friend, a pseudo-cousin to JID. This friend got sent to jail and JID expresses that he still misses and thinks about him, furthering the overarching theme of familial and quasi-familial connections.
The magnum opus of storytelling on this album is “2007,” released on the extended version. The track takes us through JID’s humble beginnings as a rapper- starting with the derailment of his college football career and ending with J. Cole discovering him. The familial tie comes in with a verse from his father, saying how he initially disapproved of JID’s musical endeavors but eventually came around to support his son’s dream.
One of the main reasons that I love J.I.D’s music so much is the message he instills in his music. As we’ve discussed, this album revolves around his familial connections, but JID also expands on the ideas that, in many cases, he is known for. These ideas center around the history of systemic racism in the United States. In “Raydar,” “Kody Blu 31,” and “Money,” JID touches on the police brutality that has ravaged the nation. One of the most poignant lyrics is “Back in the day, we was told ‘Bout reparations, get a mule, 40 acres or so, Justifications and re-payment for the pain in your soul, Fast forward, fuck patience, I aint waitin’ no more”. This is a reference to the post-Civil War policy known as 40 acres and a mule. JID has previously referenced this policy in his 2021 single, “Skegee.”
As a historian I cannot help myself, so you’re going to have to bear with me here, or don’t, that is totally up to you. What JID is referencing here is a promise left unfulfilled by the United States government. While there was never an official policy containing “40 acres and a mule”, that is the common name that was given to General William T. Sherman’s Special Field Orders, no. 15 from January 16th, 1865. These orders occurred during Sherman’s March to the Sea during the Civil War. During the march, a lot of land was taken by the Union army. The orders stated that “The islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns river, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of negroes now made free by the acts of war.”
He goes on to state that in the islands “no white person” except for, “military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves.” These orders were negated by Andrew Johnson’s May 29th Amnesty speech where he said, “I hereby grant to all persons who have, directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves and except in cases where legal proceedings under the laws of the United States providing for the confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion have been instituted.” This did not give back all of the land that was seized, but most of it was given back by the institutions that were put in charge of the disbursement.
The Forever Story is an album that delivers a great variety with quick witty bars, big-name features like Lil Wayne and 21 Savage, raw emotional songs, and substantive lyrics that tell insightful stories and send a message. This is not the first masterpiece that JID has released, just his latest, but it’s certainly one of my favorite albums from the past year.
Listen to The Forever Story on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube
The Wartime Genesis of Free Labor: The Lower South. Freedmen and Southern Society Project. http://www.freedmen.umd.edu
U. S. President. Andrew Johnson. Prest. Johnson's amnesty proclamation ... Done at the city of Washington, the twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five ... Andrew Johnson. Washington, 1865. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.23502500/.