J.I.D the name you should know by now because he is next up from the Dreamville team. The East Atlanta native is the best young lyricist in the game right now and it’s not even close. Even his label boss the Goat J.Cole has to come with his best or J.I.D will out shine him like he almost did on this album.
J.I.D latest album “Dicaprio 2” is the second and last installment in the series, and it’s definitely a statement to everybody in the rap game. Usually people with rapid-fire flows are looked down upon in the game today but not with this kid. J.I.D is cut from a completely different cloth than most of these rappers in today’s game. Not many people come close to his wordplay nor flow and even Cole knows that “The first thing is how gifted he was with putting his words together, when I saw his work ethic and his hunger it solidified it. His potential is GOAT status.” That is coming from a top 3 artist of this generation so it has to be some truth beyond it. Then J.I.D released his debut album “The Never Story” in 2017 which should have been in the conversion for top album of the year.
Dicaprio 2 is a 14 track album that has features from Asap Ferg, Jcole, 6Lack, Ella Mai, BJ the Chicago Kid, Method Man, and Joey Badass. This album is led by the single “Off Deez“( FT. JCOLE) that shows J.I.D ablitily to hang and even outshine Cole on this track ( not at Coles level but he’s pretty good). J.I.D makes a bold statement on his first track “Slick Talk” with lyrics ” When im done, please know that I was trying to diss y’all/ Cause if this is a competition, then im setting this bar/ In my city, Who’s with me? I’m in my own lane.” Mind you he’s from Zone 6. The next track “Westbrook” which gets an assist from Ferg is a braggadocious track about both their emergence in the rap game. With Ferg holding down the chorus ” I done came up, I done came up/ All the homies ride, they can’t change us”, then J.I.D makes it known to put the team on his shoulder” J.I.D or call me Willie Beamon/ But I’m bout the team, everybody eatin/ if its down to me , I’ma do some shit niggas ain’t never seen”. Most of us already know he feel like this since he made his comment about Dreamville competing with TDE ” We Gotta Step This Shit the Fuck Up. Becasue them niggas is fire.” J.I.D wants all the smoke and wants his team to be the best ever known.
J.I.D even has the ability to mesh well with some of the young R&B talent on tracks ” Tiied” ( FT. 6Lack & Ella Mai) and “Skrawberries” (FT. BJ the Chicago). Those tracks are definitely directed towards the ladies. “Tiied” is basically blaming the girl for their current relationship problems even though Ella Mai comes back with the truthful rebuttal, while “Skrawberries” is worshipping the girl even in the midst of their struggles they will always love each other. The amazing part about “Skrawberries” is that Mac Miller assisted with curation on the track. Now the one some of you old heads will be yearning for is “Hot Box” which features Method Man and Joey Badass. This track is amazing for the fact that Method Man can flow on it without sounding out-of-place or outdated.
This album is a solid follow-up from its predecessor. Its cohesive and J.I.D did a good job of telling his story of being broke, fame, drugs and who he is as a person. Dreamville is in amazing hands with its cast of players on the team even though their more like fam. Even with J.Cole rumored retirement on the horizon, his team will be just fine without him with J.I.D leading the charge. TDE better watch themselves because J.I.D is making it known he’s gunning for them and the rest of the rap game.