JID jumpstarts his busy summer with the short but explosive “GDLU (Preluxe).”
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TOP 3
3. Animals (Pt. 1) (Ft. Eminem)
For the first minute, this track is absolute chaos. The beat is frantic, erratic, and feels like it was never meant to be tamed, yet JID jumps in headfirst, trying to ride the storm. At times, he slides off the rhythm, but once he locks in and accelerates his flow, it all clicks. His bars are packed with energy and braggadocio, laced with creative flexes and different ways of saying he’s here to dominate. Then, as the instrumental simmers down, JID follows suit, switching gears and dropping a string of clever sports metaphors to hammer home just how ahead of the pack he is.
When Eminem enters, the vibe stays competitive, but it gets darker and more intense. He picks up where JID left off, name-dropping 50 Cent with pride, reminiscing about the pain of losing Proof, and taking a slick jab at Ja Rule. His flow is rapid-fire and cold, almost mechanical, with vocals that sound slightly processed, like he’s rapping into a fan on purpose. By the time he finishes his verse, there’s no question who closed the show—Em takes the track and runs with it like a victory lap.
2. Lisa (Ft. 6LACK)
“Lisa,” featuring fellow Atlanta native 6LACK, is a powerful and cerebral listen that finds both artists tapping into a space of grit, reflection, and mastery. The production itself is shifty and hypnotic, with a beat that feels like it’s constantly warping beneath your feet, enhanced by ghostly, roaring vocal samples that haunt the background. Over this eerie canvas, JID sounds laser-focused. He delves into the wisdom passed down from OGs, reflecting on how far he has come and why his unorthodox, high-IQ flow continues to set him apart from his peers. Lyrically, he’s in his bag, combining hunger, confidence, and sharp storytelling to paint his evolution from a wild kid to a respected king with a bright future.
6LACK slides in with a moody, subdued interlude that feels like a pause for breath and introspection. His tone is almost numb, yet there’s depth in his words as he unpacks his own battles with darkness and the resilience that’s molded him. It adds a reflective contrast to JID’s high-octane bars. As the track nears its end, JID escalates things with a dynamic shift in delivery, turning up the intensity while maintaining clarity and command.
“Lisa” is a lengthy listen, but it’s intriguing enough if you’re interested in hearing about JID’s mindset.
1. Behold
“Behold,” the intro to the album, feels like the cinematic rise of an anti-hero—imagine someone stepping out of a bed of flowers with a pistol and purpose. It opens with a deceptively delicate, almost floral soundscape before flipping into something far more brooding and militant. JID wastes no time asserting dominance, stomping on the production with effortless cool. His bars touch on everything from his lethal flows to his Atlanta roots, cruising the city with blickies, and embracing his throne like a true king. It’s a verse that’s digestible on the surface but reveals surgical precision beneath—mechanical, polished, and purposeful. As an album opener, it’s a tone-setter and a warning shot, teasing the storm to come while reminding the rap world: JID is not to be played with.
SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN
1. Behold (4.5/5)
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RGM RATING
(78%)
JID clearly understands the weight of the moment, and you can hear it in every second of this new four-track project. Despite its short runtime, the EP is overflowing with razor-sharp lyricism that reestablishes his competitive edge, paints vivid images of his upbringing, and reminds listeners just how lethal he can be, both with his pen and persona. His flows are on another level entirely: some are jagged and chaotic, defying the beat like they have a mind of their own, while others are so clean and fast they could break Guinness records. The production, meanwhile, is a whirlwind of hard-hitting, genre-defiant energy—militant, explosive, darkly intoxicating, and purposefully messy. It feels like a warzone wrapped in sound, and JID walks through it like a general with something to prove.
Where the project stumbles slightly is in its features. Lil Yachty overstays his welcome on “Knew Better,” 6LACK sounds oddly detached and low-energy, and while Eminem’s technical ability remains undeniable, his verse feels more like a clinic than an actual contribution to the song’s vibe. Still, these moments don’t derail the mission. JID crafted this project as a warning shot—a taste of what’s to come with God Does Like Ugly. And if this is the warm-up, the main course might just be a classic in the making.
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
