J.I.D's 2022 The Forever Story track "Surround Sound," featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate, is certified platinum. The single was released in January of last year, and uses a sample of Aretha Franklin's "One Step Ahead." The song's official music video also currently has over 30 million views on YouTube.
In March, J.I.D discussed the critically-acclaimed album that the track is a part of. He told People that the album saw him digging up past wounds, making it tough for him to consistently perform it live. “This project, it’s helping open up the door for the rest of the stuff I’m going to be doing,” he told the outlet. “So I like how intentional it was. And it was so serious, to the point like I have to have fun on the next one."
The Success Of "Surround Sound"
"I was a little stressed," J.I.D continued, I was going through emotional s**t, I was digging up old traumas. I was dialing backwards. It’s hard to perform it every night, you know what I’m saying? I’m ready for the next album cycle. The [setlist] stretch from ‘Sistanem’ to ‘Kody Blu 31,’ I’m cooked. And then ‘Workin Out,’ I’m cooked. Yeah, I’m an emotional wreck at that point."
Earlier this year, J.I.D also shared his thoughts on the current state of hip hop. “I got a weird theory about how music is right now. In the blog era with those superstars like Drake. They came up in the blog era, and they came up in a time [when] you ain’t see anybody rapping like that," he told the Throwing Fits podcast in March, "They weren’t like, it wasn’t too much—it was a first-time thing. Now, it’s so much of fast food and microwave. Everything is really quick. So, it’s not really like, rap.” He went on to explain that he feels as though many rappers these days care more about virality than the quality of the work they put out. “People don’t really care about it as much,” J.I.D claimed.
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