J.I.D - The Forever Story ALBUM REVIEW 

You can really tell when an artist really cares about every single second on their album, JID has insane respect for his fans and his craft

You would haven given this album at 10 if it was called "GOD JID"

The most impressive thing about the forever story is how diverse everyone’s favourites from the album are.

This is literally the perfect progression for album scores ( the never story 7/10)(DiCaprio 2 8/10)(Forever story 9/10) next album hopefully a 10

I can't believe how serious this comment section is for a Fantano video. It's clear everyone here has so much genuine respect for JID as an artist. I love joking around with y'all, but this is great to see

Absolutely deserving of a 9. Even though this is an incredible album, I bet this is not JID's peak, we'll just have to wait.

Remember to listen to "2007" as well. He left it off the album because the samples couldn't get cleared but he made a point to say that it was the true ending of the album

Kody Blu 31 brought a tear to my eyes, fantastic track.

Kody Blu is such a beautiful track man wow. He sounded so comfortable singing it’s crazy.

his best work to date. JID’s ability on the mic is just ridiculous. the themes on this album were great and the music itself was amazing. always listening when he drops bc of his storytelling, wordplay, voice, and flow.

You know when “Stars” is the weakest track in your album, you have a pretty great fucking album

I actually teared up when I reached stars and heard the “and now a word from our ancestors” transition into Yasiin Bey. Such a cool, creative, and beautiful hip-hop moment

Saw the flannel, saw the score and all I can say is I am so fucking happy for JID man. I have been following him before "The Never Story" dropped and while most group him in with the younger rappers despite the fact that he is in his thirties it goes to show if you have the talent and the dedication success will find you in time, it may not be as drastic as becoming one of the best artist out on one of the premier hip hop labels but you can make it.

Fantano’s comment section is typically full of jokes but this one is exclusively filled with praises for the album. JID is no joke. He’s the next upcoming goat I’m calling it now

Strongly believe it would’ve been a 10 if 2007 was on the album

JIDs singing took me by surprise, as a mostly lyrical focused rapper, I was surprised his vocals were absolutely beautiful.

Rightfully deserves that 9 out of 10! JID has made his best album yet and I can’t wait for what he does next! Mans starting out like Kendrick from a 8 to a 9 to a 10 soon

148 flow switches (1 every 13.9 seconds) 124 vocal tone switches (1 every 16.6 seconds) 20% of his vocals are sung (he hired a singing coach for it) 9 out of 10 is fair

pitchfork is actually nuts for giving this album a 7.3

I discovered JID randomly on a "for you" Playlist from Spotify maybe 4-5 years ago. First song I ever heard from him was Hasta Luego. I just remember thinking whoa this guy is so different and talented. I was so surprised that he was basically unknown at that point. So glad he's being recognized and what a breath of fresh air this project was. J Cole has a great ear for talent. JID, Bas, Earthgang, etc. Dreamville is the best label in the game rn.

fantano introduced me to jid 4 years ago when “off deez” was on his best songs of the week. since then he has become my favorite rapper and it’s amazing to see how far he’s come. definitely my favorite album of the year so far :-)

Had the honour of working on the album artwork for this project (did the compositing work in photoshop) and it's so awesome seeing the amazing reception to this project, and pretty surreal seeing you review and have such great thoughts. JID has such a wild future ahead of him and he's still super young, stoked to see what he does next !

i haven’t listened to a Rap album or any Rap in the last year or so and holy shit i just finished this and my critic ass even thinks this may be a 10. it reminds me a lot of Section 80 for some reason and oh my god I’m gonna be talking about this album for the rest of my days. this is unbelievable everyone needs to hear this.

It’s crazy when you realize you been listening to JID since he dropped “NEVER” and now he’s easily top 5 arguably top 3 in the game rn

Also worth noting that JID can perform all his songs flawlessly. Probably the best live rapper I've ever heard to be honest.

This year has been a phenomenal one for hip-hop. Mr. Morale, Drill Music in Zion, Aethiopes, Melt My Eyez, Forever Story, and upcoming albums like Danny Brown’s record and Freddie Gibbs’ record. One of the best years for hip-hop in quite a while.

no one talking abt how stars is his least favorite?

Shy of a ten because it wasn’t called The Money Story

This album is definitely Hiphop's album of the year. JID needs more recognition for his work.

JID has been releasing absolute HEAT since "BRUUUUH" with Denzel. Absolutely crazy album - instant replayability.

This album is mad, Jid is going to be one of the best of our generation. 9 is rightfully deserved.

Ever since I was introduced to J.I.D when he opened up for J. Cole on the 4YEO tour, I loved him. Listened to The Never Story, then DiCaprio 2, loved them both. Couldn’t wait to see what he could offer on The Forever Story and he delivered above my expectations. I’m so happy seeing how far he’s gone from 2016 and now. Great review!

Amazing year for hip-hop! Couldn't agree more on the score, my man Jiddy really showing a lot of grow and probing that he truly has potential to be one of the greatest

Based Anthony

Interesting take on "Stars", Anthony! It's been one of the tracks with pretty high replay value for me

bruh i'm just here because it got snubbed from the grammys. gotta remind myself and lowkey self-validate my unbias that this was amazing

So glad I got to witness him come up like this. Coming from someone who had major talent, to someone who’s realized that talent.

It was amazing to hear him expand his sound a bit. His singing was pretty good on here, and there was also some amazing storytelling, obviously great flows, and just overall an exquisite showcase of skill with great lyrical content as well. Easily his best work to date, 9/10 imo. Favorite tracks: Can’t Punk me, sistanem, kody blu 31, Crack sandwich, better days, lauder too, etc.

I have ALWAYS enjoyed JID's features or collabs with other artists, but hadn't found his solo work compelling until now. The first 4-5 tracks just hooked me immediately and it's been on repeat for the last week or so. Guy is so talented and effortless. Brings southern style into the mix as well, harkening some Andre 3000 particularly with the Earthgang features. I would love to hear him on a song with Pusha T produced by Kanye or something, as if we had gotten to hear a JID feature on Daytona. Excited for what the future brings and thankful to have this album available to listen to!

You should've included 2007 in the review, it's the real outro was just not included due to sample issues. It's an incredible track, would definitely be a 10 including it.

Just a technical note: On your camera if you set the White Balance to a specific color temp instead of auto, you’d stop getting those blue pulses that are noticeable when you jump cut. Also might make your green screen easier to key as well. Just a tip!

I think what's refreshing about JID is how much bruh let's his music speak for itself. No drama, no beef, no bullshit, and when he does invite us into his life, it's artistically on wax He's given us 5 years of consistently incredible features, collabs, and singles but yet I'm never like "Jid needs to take a break." And while most rap shows are straight garbage with the rapper basically a glorified stuntman, bruh has a band and barely misses a beat. He has a solid case for top 5 all time with 1, maybe 2 more projects like this. This album made me feel like I was watching Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt at the Olympics. Just athletic, nimble, graceful, versatile...the whole damn package PS also power to him. He's the only 2018 freshman still relevant by a wide mile

W album by JID. One of hip hop's finest indeed.

Hearing JID singing is like seeing Goku hit super-saiyan. I didn't even know he could get any better but then boom, he pulls out a new phase and skyrockets his power

Best JID project to date. Been rockin with him ever since he dropped "NEVER". Back then nobody knew him and he was criminally underrated. So happy for him and glad to see he is capitalizing the way we all knew he would.

I don’t know how, but the addition of 2007 on the extended edition makes this album that much better. This is probably one of the best rap albums of the decade

Great review as always! I love this album, I hope you two will able to engage on a conversation. There is not many insightful interviews of J.I.D. With your great ability to listen and ask questions that means something, that would be an enjoyable listen.

HELL YES! This album really is a strong 9. It falls short of a masterpiece, but it just exudes quality from front to back. One of the most impressive and lyrically dense albums I've ever heard.

Including 2007, I feel like this album is definitely a 10/10 contender

This album is just so good. I haven't even listened to his previous albums so it's not even bias, this was my first experience with the guy minus features. The vibes during my album listening were unmatched: I was getting prepared for my workout session on the day the album came out and I looked on Spotify to find something to jam to and I realized the album had dropped so I said, "Hey, why not?"... and *SSSSHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTT* When I tell y'all that was the most amazing workout session I've ever had, it was amazing. Each song is just really phenomenal and I'm so glad majority people love the album (Although Meami is a little indifferent about it so that's an L take for sure)

I'm very happy to hear so much praise for this. I've been keeping an eye on JID ever since NEVER blew my mind. I always had a feeling from it that he could become one of my *very* fav rappers. He'd definitely had a few phenomenal tracks & features before, but THIS is the album I'd been waiting for. Easily one of my fav albums in the genre in years, I love every second of it. It completely validated my feeling, and I think it easily cemented him as the rapper I'm most excited hearing in the foreseeable future.

I've been waiting for an album like this for nearly a decade. The Forever Story is officially in my top 3 Hip Hop albums of all time. Review the real outro "2007" Anthony!

This album is just ridiculous. It's wonderful and there's just so many words I could use to describe it. JID absolutely hit the bullseye with this record.

Been a JID fan since Cole signed him. I’m so happy to see Jiddy JID getting his flowers. He deserves it 🙏🏼

JID was at Lollapalooza a few years back and I had heard of him but wasn’t a fan. By the time he left the stage I knew I’d be a fan for life. If you have a chance to see him live do it. He’s the best live rapper I have ever seen

Good on you to give him a 10, he really deserves it

Just in time is easily one of the best songs of the year. JIDs growth has been so fun to watch and with each listen this album grows on me more and more.

Anthony, you can’t just repeatedly call him M.I.D for 10 minutes and call that a review

I honestly appreciate the fact that it’s a strong 9, he’s gonna come out with even more fire later on because we still haven’t seen his peak, the whole record he sounded like it was a regular day to him. He’s gonna break the game even more than he already has, super proud of him!

Such a great album. Can’t wait to see where he goes next

Really can’t complain much about a 9/10 review, but I’m surprised that you didn’t enjoy the first half of Stars. That instrumental is one of the best on the album imo, the calm beat with the scattered flute is so relaxing and JID’s “R” flow is immaculate.

So thrilled to hear such a glowing review from you for this beautiful project. Fuck yeah. J.I.D. is on another level.

Ever since Ed, Edd, and Eddy came out by Jid I was a fan he give you the best of worlds. He give trap bangers and good r&b cuts on this album

I gave the album a listen before watching the review. This is the first JID project I’ve listened to. Wild album! Holy hell, this album definitely deserves respect.

I love this record so much and loved seeing your thoughts on it. I would've also liked to see your thoughts on 2007, a track that JID wanted to close the album with originally(after Lauder Too). IMO, it's an even better closer than Lauder Too, as good as that track is!

Apparently The Forever Story's deluxe will contain Baby Tate's full verse for surround sound which she mistakenly sent JID when he originally only asked for only a bridge. Anyways this record is amazing and my favourite album of the year

strong nine absolute chills when fantano said that. such a satisfying review, isn't it brilliant when a hip hop album this good comes together

Damn I cant believe you found the beat on Stars "tedious" ... I absolutely fucking loved it and how unique it was, but hey everyone has their taste, cant judge. But overall yeah, absolutely fucking stellar album. Quickly jumped in my top 5 if not top 3

JID just proved himself to be one of the best artists of this generation

I saw him live 3 times in the last year. He is insane. The most difficult, hard parts (the flow on Lauder Too for example), he raps away like he’s making his eggs in the morning. In-sane how easy this is for him. One of the best out there. For me on the same level as a Kendrick, Cole, etc.

What an amazing year for music, although we haven’t gotten a ten this year I could care less. So many fresh and vibrant albums, both for rap and rock. Rap and rock can totally coexist with each other without one taking away from the other.

ABSOLUTELY BASED! STANDING OVATION FOR THE MELON! BASED!

Stars is personally my favorite song on the entire album

JID has a crazy talent because his flows and voice have the appeal to people looking for more conventional rap, but those same flows and voice can easily appeal to people looking for more trap style. He's truly unique, and he comes with bars on bars.

i cant believe he is 31 years old. if he drops 3 more albums like this he fs will be one of the greatest oat

I love how nobody is memeing in the comments and they're just saying that this album got the score that it deserved and that they are happy that jid is getting his flowers and putting out fantastic music.

yes. YESS!!! i've already said to myself that this is hiphop album of the year, and i felt like this is about to be a light 9 for anthony, AND ITS A STRONG 9. This is incredible, watching JID getting the credit he deserves

i’ve never been too deep into Rap- but i knew listening to this album that it went above and beyond. it’s gonna be hard for other projects that come out or i go back and listen to, to compete with this album. amazing album!

I have a feeling that this year is going to go down as one of the best years in music. Not for big artists dropping amazing LPs, although Beyoncé dropped arguably her best albulm yet and Kendrick dropped his most artistic albulm yet, but for lesser known artists making some of the best music of this century so far. I’m excited to see what else is in store this year and I hope that this trend of good music continues!

How is it tht I learn more about J.I.D’s songs from Story Mode here than some reaction channels reviewing the whole album. The detail in which he goes into paints a picture in my mind which is why I love weekly track reviews. His articulate colourful vocabulary stunning 🤩

One of the few albums where I can sit down and listen to every single track. Amazing album that was definitely a 10/10 for me. All around fantastic!

This is my favorite album from one of my favorite artists! If I had to pick 4 favorite tracks, they would be, in order: "Lauder Too" (Ravyn Lanae's performance gave me goosebumps! She reminds me a bit of Kilo Kish, but unique-enough to be in her own lane. She now has a new fan), "Money", "Dance Now", and "2007" (technically, not on the album, but you get it). J.I.D even improved on his singing on this project... he's just getting started!

When I was recommended this album they also said that every song is great. You usually hear that about alot of artists and its rarely so true, but it really was strong through n through. I'm excited to listen to his previous/future work.

Unreal album. I've been so obsessed with JID. How one person can be so smart and creative is just crazy.

Great review overall, I just find kind of strange that Anthony havent mentioned “2007”, the real closer for the record, specially when is such an unskippable track to understand the FULL story conceptually. I hope he eventually reads this and notices out that miss.

This guy has been my favorite since 2018 and holy SHIT did he prove me right to all my friends. Fucking bonkers album

Section 80 - 8 GKMC - 9 TPAB - 10 Dicaprio 2 - 8 Forever - 9 TBA - 👀

Aoty no cap, been hooked on to jid for more than a year now, he never disappoints. Very very much deserved🙌🏻

so awesome and honestly rare to see an artist follow up their breakout project with something more ambitious, inspired, and just all around better. love to see it

These are the 37 scores from the records in the 2022 Loved List! 1- (STRONG 9) Viagra Boys - Cave World T2 - (Decent to STRONG 9) Black Midi - Hellfire J.I.D - The Forever Story T-4 (DECENT to Strong 9) Black Country,New Road - Ants From Up There Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems T-6 (LIGHT to Decent 9) Baby - Petrol Girls Silvana Estrada - Marchita T-8 (Strong 8 to a LIGHT 9) Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You Conway the Machine - God Don’t Make Mistakes 10- (STRONG 8 to a Light 9) billy woods - Aethiopes 11-(STRONG 8) Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul - Topical Dancer Chat Pile - God’s Country 13- (Decent to STRONG 8) Beyoncé - Renaissance T-14 (DECENT to Strong 8) Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future FKA twigs - Caprisongs Gospel - The Loser Leikeli47 - Shape Up Lupe Fiasco - Drill Music in Zion Otoboke Beaver - Super Champon Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful T-21 (Light to DECENT 8) Artificial Brain - Self Titled Foxtails - fawn Kralice - Crystalline Exhaustion Meridian Brothers - Meridian Brothers & El Grupo Renacimiento T-25(LIGHT to Decent 8) Beach House - Once Twice Melody Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry T-28 (LIGHT 8) Daniel Rossen - You Belong There JER - Bothered / Unbothered Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Wormrot - Hiss T-32 (Strong 7 to a LIGHT 8) Benny the Butcher - Tana Talk 4 Black Dresses - Forget Your Own Face Bladee & Ecco2k - Crest Cheekface - Too Much to Ask Kilo Kish - American Gurl The Weeknd - Dawn FM

I listened to the album as soon as it dropped on spotify; already knew fantano would love it. Feels nice, coming to a review having listened to the record beforehand.

This is my hip hop album of the year Crack Sandwich, Can't Punk Me, Surround Sound and Lauder Too are my favs but who am I kidding, this album is a instant classic.

So glad that Jid got this rating, such a good album, and such a well deserved score, his improvement since his mixtape days has been absolutely insane

I love when Anthony's descriptions are only one or two words. Screw looking at the score or the flannel in the thumbnail, I just wanna hear that one word reaction to one of the best records of the year.

Don't forget about 2007, which was intended to be the album closer, but was cut due to sample clearances. It really ties the album together.

JID keeps growing as an artist and it's so great. I really enjoyed this record front to back. This man keeps me excited for every new single he drops.

Off topic but, i know you've been through some really hard times lately Anthony and just wanted to say that while i do not agree with you sometimes i appreciate the work you do for the music industry/community in general and for introducing me to new music/artist and allowing to be entertained with some decent comedy while discussing the passion i love so much which is music in segments like "Let's Argue". This lil' empire you have built is well deserved, we love you Melon! That being said... Swimming 3, MBDTF 6, disliked, unsuscribed and reported

Genuinely never been happier for such score. JID really outdid himself here. It's not really my favourite rap album of the year but it definitely deserves the praise it gets. Thanks for the review 🔥

@theneedledrop great message you gave on your channel 5 appearance.

First exposure to JID he was playing super early at a small music festival called Mala Luna in San Antonio. I got there early to interview some other artists, heard him from the media tent and thought "Whoever this kid is, he's rapping his ass off". Didn't get a chance to chat with him but I was an instant supporter and have been following since. Glad to see him continue to grow and improve.