JID “God Does Like Ugly” Review

What comes after perpetually? It is a good query for a God-fearing lyricist. JID’s gritty spirituality has at all times been part of his music, particularly as he is reckoned with a harsh Atlanta upbringing and wishes to higher the world round him. However the place earlier initiatives yearned for a better sense of eternally outlined function and peace, his new album God Does Like Ugly accepts the truth that he already discovered these north stars. They’re simply not precisely what the Georgia rapper anticipated, and he did not know the place to go from there.

Following years of vital acclaim, business crossover moments, and leagues of followers proclaiming Destin Alternative Path to be hip-hop’s latest chief, none of that actually healed or glad his artistry’s starvation. The result’s the Dreamville MC’s most bold and sonically distinct report but, amping up the distinction between his most hellish and holy soundscapes.

A lot of JID’s earlier muses and conceptual pursuits present up once more on right here: the ATL love, the emphasis on penmanship, vivid photos of Black oppression, and the bridges between old-school rap types and the present meta. The distinction this time round is the conceptual framing of an unpleasant spiritual reckoning, for higher or worse. Whereas these narrative dangers made for underwhelming moments peppered all through, his newly nuanced perspective on faith and his dedication to hip-hop fundamentals nonetheless crafted a gratifying and expansive hear.

That final level is what persistently makes JID a dialog starter within the sport: debates about his technicality supposedly overshadowing his themes. For followers of lyrical miracles, that was clear from the primary single “WRK,” and pops up most flashily in “On McAfee.” All through the tracklist, although, the 34-year-old consists of scathing specificity every now and then and actually hones in on a track idea, reminiscent of a stable Clipse collaboration in “Group” or the back-and-forth dialog of “No Boo” with Jessie Reyez. This makes GDLU come alive amid extra meager statements and track constructions like “What We On” with Don Toliver.

Nonetheless, even when JID’s not saying a lot we’ve not heard, he is making my job quite a bit simpler. Clear diction, participating rhyme schemes, and seamless movement switches are arguably much more plentiful right here that on earlier full-lengths, as extra frequent beat switches and sonic redirections go away loads of room for malleability. Pair that with persistently crisp and sharp manufacturing no matter type, and you’ve got on the spot head-bobbers. However what lies beneath the floor?

“Of Blue” with Mereda is what bests sums up God Does Like Ugly‘s mission. Three sections reckon with JID’s relationship with God – and extra particularly, the church. “Even seen the preacher on the TV inform me, ‘Sinners, $199.99,’ and he can save our soul,” he raps on the reduce, arguably the album’s clearest confrontation with institutional spiritual exploitation. This monitor revamps the dialog that started on albums like The By no means Story: discovering God to take care of a merciless world. Now, the main target shifts to discovering God inside a merciless world, and JID locations way more lyrical emphasis on how the horrid elements of his life impressed him simply as a lot as his blessings.

Sarcastically, the nastiest elements of God Does Like Ugly are those that encourage this report and actually make it tick, relatively than being the monsters JID runs from throughout these 15 tracks. The intro “YouUgly” with Westside Gunn is perhaps this catalog’s most definitive opener on the subject of setting the tone and separating itself from the pack. Heavy bass and crooked percussion get the purpose throughout with out skipping a beat. The subsequent monitor “Glory” doubles down by using stark drums and darkish piano chords to floor an in any other case hovering gospel pattern. Whereas we’re on the ugliness, friends like Child Kia make that power clear, whereas others like Vince Staples interact with the weariness of this battle as an alternative of its fire-fueling nature.

Elsewhere, although, the beats you may discover on God Does Like Ugly won’t differ a lot from different LPs. Nonetheless, Christo leads a exceptional group of behind-the-board assist from Jay Versace, Boi-1da, Trakgirl, Mario Luciano, Lex Luger, and lots of extra. They’re general compelling regardless of some empty house right here and there.

Most critically, the melodies in R&B-centered cuts like “Wholeheartedly” are nonetheless stable, and it is really one in all JID’s finest sung performances. But, instrumentally, these songs do not do a lot to emphasise or absolutely distinction what’s purported to be a cohesive sound working with the topical ideas right here. Interruptions within the tracklist’s movement, such because the regional curler rink homage “Sk8” with Ciara and EARTHGANG, frankly sound finest out of context (whereas nonetheless being participating tales on the album). For the front-to-back expertise, they threat muddying the sparse through-lines in what JID desires to say with this album.

Nevertheless, these nitpicks owe themselves to what we all know he is able to, and he nonetheless delivers by tying free strings collectively on GDLU. For instance, “Gz” explores the expectations of boisterous gangster photos, whether or not within the sales space or within the streets. “Dealin’ with some actual s**t, they faking beef, we creating / Name it competitors, really feel extra prefer it’s class participation,” JID raps on the reduce. Nonetheless, for all of the battle and chaos that these performances of toughness and survival trigger, he permits his pen to level to systemic points as the basis as an alternative of the ethical quandaries that outlined earlier information.

“VCRs” continues this theme, though a few of these ideas reveal themselves as skinny whenever you go bar for bar. Rhymes aren’t all the things whenever you’re sending a message. Regardless of wanting one thing extra out of lyrical specifics, that is arguably the very best beat on right here. The guitars flutters paint the image as an alternative, and complement the verses all the way in which to a spotlight on right here. It is one in all many, however it additionally stands as a robust thematic pillar amid a extra common pool of subjects on different songs. So GDLU‘s foremost distinctive weapon remains to be sharp regardless of not rising on the battlefield as usually as some followers would love.

Although God Does Like Ugly falters a bit in a few of its many ambitions, JID’s most idiosyncratic assertion but remains to be in there. After The Perpetually Story narrated his non secular journey by means of the lens of his household, this album retreads its territory whereas searching for new particulars. “For Retains” is one other grateful reflection on the early days of JID’s profession like “2007” was. However it comes after accepting the horrors round him as virtuous missions below the sunshine of his expertise as an alternative of distant reminiscences that contextualize and validate his success.

This LP will not persuade the skeptics or shock the die-hards, however it does present dynamic songwriting, expert focus, and temporary moments of levity with cheeky references and celebrations of cultural and regional identification. It additionally finds function, honor, and precept within the darkest corners of JID’s life. When “they promoting God, we belief music,” in keeping with “Okay-Phrase,” essentially the most menacing second of ugliness on the report.

Nonetheless, the wonder the Atlanta native continues to seek out within the firestorm is what reaffirms his religion. He realized that what comes after perpetually is simply tomorrow, and with a bit extra focus and element, he’ll, hopefully, get up the following day and do proper by his group and his life’s skilled values, not those that the powers that be attempt to promote to him.

JID followers on HotNewHipHop gave God Does Like Ugly a mean rating of 4.58 out of 5 stars, primarily based on six critiques. “insane options bro holy that first hear was one thing else,” one fan wrote. One other posted, “I do not assume this fairly matches The Perpetually Story, however it will get so, so, so very shut. I am wanting ahead to giving this extra listens.” We’ll see how this album continues to age for listeners.