''The Never Story'' is the debut album by American rapper

JID Destin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name JID (also stylized J.I.D), is an American rapper. He is a part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010, with Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant ...

. It was released on March 10, 2017, by

Dreamville Records Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas (rapper), B ...

Spillage Village Spillage Village is an American musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The group is composed of rappers, singers and producers, and was founded by the members of EarthGang. Spillage Village was primarily made up of five initial members with ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. ''The Never Story'' was supported by four official singles; "Never", "D/vision", "Hereditary" and "EdEddnEddy". The album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number 197 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. J.I.D's lyrics details a narrative on his upbringing in

East Atlanta East Atlanta is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States The name East Atlanta Village primarily refers to the neighborhood's commercial district. Geography East Atlanta lies entirely within DeKalb County and is bounde ...

Background

On February 24, the first single "Never" was released. On March 6, the second single, "D/vision" was released, and the tracklist for the album was revealed. The album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from

EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot – born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, Ho ...

6LACK Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper. He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, "Prblms" ...

, and

Mereba Marian Azeb Mereba (born September 19, 1990), known mononymously as Mereba, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Early life Mereba was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 19, 1990, and raised in Pennsylvania. S ...

, with production coming from

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

, Hollywood JB,

Frank Dukes Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), better known as Ging and by his former stage name Frank Dukes, is a Canadian musician, record producer, and songwriter. A prolific producer, he has worked with artists including Camila Cabello ("Havana ...

Childish Major Markus Alandrus Randle (born July 4, 1991) known professionally as Childish Major, is an American rapper and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially rose to fame as the producer of the 2013 Rocko single, " U.O.E.N.O.", which peake ...

, Christo, Sean McVerry, Latrell James, OZ the Additive, Tha Officialz, SMKA, and The Imaginary Kids.

Singles and promotion

On February 20, 2017, the same day of announcing the signing to Dreamville, the album's first single "Never" was released. On March 6, after revealing the tracklist, he also released "D/vision" as the second single, with the music video released on August 17. On September 27, the music video for "Hereditary" was released as the third single. On February 7, 2018, the album's fourth single, "EdEddnEddy", accompanied by an animated music video was released. J.I.D also toured the album on his "Never Had Shit" tour with EARTHGANG, Chaz French, and

Lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

Critical reception

''The Never Story'' received very positive reviews. Scott Glausher of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' said "If there is one hypothesis that J.I.D wants you to walk away with after bumping ''The Never Story'', it's the notion that he can rap well. We all know southern lyricists do in fact exist, but in today's mumble game, it's refreshing to have him remind us with 12 tracks of crafty lyrics and crisp beats." '' XXL'' said "J.I.D possesses the lyrical capability and knack for songwriting that could one day put him in a similar space as the ''

4 Your Eyez Only ''4 Your Eyez Only'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. The album was Cole's first release with Interscope—his previous albums we ...

'' creator (

). Announcing his signing with

Dreamville Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas (rapper), B ...

in February, the

member wasted no time finding his footing, unleashing his ''The Never Story'' project just a month later, a collection of songs that validates the hype and makes for a glowing first impression of all that J.I.D has to offer." Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Paul Simpson claimed that "It's obvious that J.I.D isn't trying to emulate anyone else in the Atlanta rap scene. Instead of bass-heavy trap beats, his backing tracks are more organic-sounding and veer closer to smoky neo-soul, as he switches between swift rapping and romantic crooning."

Accolades

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer. * signifies an uncredited producer. * "Never" and "Lauder" are stylized in capital letters. * "EdEddnEddy" pays tribute to a

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

show of the same name, by drawing parallels between the show's trio and his adolescent friends. * "8701" is a reference to fellow Atlanta artist Usher's third studio album,

8701 ''8701'' is the third studio album by American singer Usher, released in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2001, and in the United States on August 7, 2001, by Arista Records. Recording was handled by several producers including The Neptunes, Jerm ...

. Sample credits * "Doo Wop" contains interpolations of "Every Nigger is a Star", written and performed by

Boris Gardiner Boris Gardiner (born 13 January 1943) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist. He was a member of several groups during the 1960s before recording as a solo artist and having hit singles with " Elizabethan Reggae" (in 1970), " I Wann ...

. * "EdEddnEddy" contains a sample from " Oblighetto", as performed by

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

. * "Hoodbooger" contains elements from " Slightly All The Time", as performed by

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

. * "Somebody" contains elements from "Time", as performed by Ju-Par Universal Orchestra. * "All Bad" contains elements from "Parts on Parts" performed by

Personnel

Vocalists *

- primary artist *

- featured artist *

- featured artist Technical * Juro "Mez" Davis - mixer Production *

– production * Christo – production * Hollywood JB – production *

– production * Latrell James – production * OZ the Additive – production * Sean McVerry – production * SMKA – production * Tha Officialz – production * The Imaginary Kids – production * Fred Lozano – Art Direction

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Never Story 2017 debut albums JID albums Interscope Records albums Dreamville Records albums Albums produced by J. Cole