- Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling rapper J.I.D has announced the name and release date for his fourth studio album. The dynamically named project, God Does Like Ugly, is available for pre-order now and will be released this summer, on August 8th.
Giving fans a taste of what they can expect on this new album, J.I.D also released a short visual depicting scenes from a lost world, borrowing inspiration from films like The Warriors and Mad Max, but as always with J.I.D, set upon the backdrop of Atlanta.
The album announcement comes on the heels of J.I.D’s most recent release, called “WRK,” the “high energy offering [ushering] the start of a new era” (Hypebeast). The song was produced by Grammy-winning producer Pluss and longtime collaborator Christo. It centers J.I.D’s signature double time bars, infectious word plays and vocal changes that keep the listener hooked for the length of the three-minute track.
Though the Atlanta rapper has stayed busy with sold-out tours and collaborations with Lil Yachty, Ab-Soul, NewJeans, Eminem and more, “WRK” is the first solo cut from J.I.D since the release of his critically acclaimed album, The Forever Story (Dreamville/Interscope Records, 2022). The album, which Rolling Stone, Complex, NPR, GQ, XXL and more included in their “Best Albums of The Year” lists, bore fruit well past its release date.
Almost a year after its release, a cut from the record — the infectious track “Surround Sound” — soared to viral acclaim with its own TikTok challenge and ended the year in the #1 position across Billboard Viral 50, TikTok Viral, and TikTok 50. The song featuring Atlanta natives 21 Savage and Baby Tate re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 2024 and went on to be 3x platinum certified.