A little bit of everything.

We’re at a time in Hip Hop where rappers disappear just as quickly as they go viral. Only focusing on the next hit or moment to keep them going. JID represents the complete opposite of that. A slow burn that shines bright if you’re paying attention to the grind. God Does Like Ugly sounds like it was well thought out. It just struggles at times to find a real identity with an off-balance mix of commercial hit attempts in between deep-cut records. A reflection of his career.

Even with an intro assisted by Westside Gunn, this project is Atlanta down to the core. Everything from the Ciara feature to the Pastor Troy homage (yeah, that’s right, Pastor Troy) screams it, and it sounds so organic here. JID does a good job at creating something that sounds familiar enough for the casual listener to catch on and digest all while keeping the message and point he wants to get across with his bars and off-the-wall flows, reminiscent of how Outkast did things back in their prime.

Although GDLU isn’t as easy to listen to as his last drop, The Forever Story, the features, production, and storytelling displayed on this give it a nice feel for the most part and allow the listener to easily follow the faith concept throughout. “My momma said we gotta get away from them apartments, it’s graves in them apartments, and it ain’t gotta end this way, cause we ain’t start shit”. Catchy hooks like this coupled with some known names like Clipse, 6black, Vince Staples, and Ty$ provide a nice change of pace when compared to some of the heavier tracks like “Glory” or “Of Blue”.

My one and only gripe comes from the sequencing/song selection process. It feels like JID was trying to check too many boxes on one project, and it took away from the overall experience and concept because of it. For example, the track “Sk8” makes sense as Atlanta is known for skating ring culture, and he’s an Atlanta artist, but outside of that, the song felt forced and out of place sonically.

That feeling repeats itself once more toward the end of the album as well. Hearing Baby Kia in between Jessie Reyes and Mereba was tough on the ears (even with the interlude) and didn’t really make sense. This album definitely has some good moments and even better raps. I just wish it was clear as to who it’s trying to appeal to. A more focused approach would have made it a better experience, but I’m not mad at it.

Standout Tracks: Community, VCRs, No Boo

Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑 (7.5/10)