UPDATE: J.I.D. has uploaded an official version on his Soundcloud page. You have to respect the man for that!
By now, if you aren't aware of Dreamville's J.I.D., you're missing out on one of the most promising young lyricists in the game. This year alone, dude has already delivered two verse-of-the-year contenders in "Hasta Luego" and "D/Vision (with the equally dope EarthGang), and he only seems to be getting better with time. While great things are clearly awaiting the Atlanta rapper in his future, a gem from his past has recently been unearthed, thanks to the detective work of a Reddit user over at R/hiphopheads (shout out to ya'll). One of J.I.D.'s pre-The Never Story mixtapes, Para Tu, has been uploaded onto Soundcloud.
The project, which was originally released in October of 2013, features eleven tracks, some of which feature appearances from EarthGang. While the mixtape had originally disappeared, presumably due to J.I.D. removing it, the tape's recent emergence is a great insight into a talented artist's creative trajectory. You can still hear the flashes of brilliance in songs like "Pro-Verbs," as well as an emerging experimental touch on songs like "Drew." If you're a fan of J.I.D., you should probably consider checking this out - it's well worth a listen.
Sometimes, it's easy to forgot that many of the game's best rappers have often started their careers with a solid collection of mixtapes. Check out Para Tu below, while it's still available. As of yet, J.I.D. has yet to issue a comment on the release, so if he chooses to have it taken down, so be it. For now, enjoy the early sounds of one of the game's future stars.