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Paras Griffin/Contributor through Getty Images

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JID at an MLB superstar softball sport in Atlanta, Georgia

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Key Takeaways:

• JID unveiled his fourth studio album, God Does Like Ugly, on Friday (Aug. 8).
• The 15-track album contains options from Clipse, Ciara, Westside Gunn and extra.
• A follow-up album, God Doesn’t Like Ugly, is reportedly within the works and should embrace attainable involvement from Metro Boomin.

On Friday (Aug. 8), Dreamville Records’ JID formally launched his fourth studio album, God Does Like Ugly. The 15-track venture arrived as a follow-up to 2022’s The Forever Story and options manufacturing from the likes of Childish Major, Lex Luger, Jay Versace, Boi-1da, Thundercat and longtime collaborator Christo.

The album additionally contains visitor appearances from Ciara, EARTHGANG, Ty Dolla $ign, Westside Gunn, Vince Staples, Don Toliver, Pastor Troy and extra. Additional contributions come from rising Atlanta acts like MARCO PLUS and Baby Kia. According to a current function with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the album contains music recorded as early as 2018.

God Does Like Ugly spans a wide range of themes, from systemic critique to private reflection. One standout, “Community,” contains verses from Clipse’s Pusha T and Malice and addresses problems with energy and survival. “K-Word” explores revenge by way of a character-driven narrative. Songs like “Sk8” and “No Boo” take a lighter tone with regional sounds and humorous storytelling. The ultimate observe, “For Keeps,” boasts a second of introspection and a quick audio clip of JID talking together with his youngster — his first public acknowledgment of fatherhood.

The title of the album comes from a phrase utilized by JID’s late grandmother. As defined to the aforementioned publication, the rapper in contrast the album’s strategy to a high-risk soccer play.

“[God Does Like Ugly] is like a go ball,” he said. “In football, the go ball is when the quarterback drops wider on the outside and throws it as deep as he can and sees what happens. Hail Mary type s**t. But it’s not like all is lost if you drop it. It’s just, ‘I’m about to go and make a play.’ This is me making a play.”

A follow-up album, God Doesn’t Like Ugly, is reportedly in progress and should embrace a beforehand teased help from Metro Boomin.