God Does Like Ugly Album Review

Emma Paff

Music Journalist

Three long years post-Forever Story, there is finally a new chapter from JID: God Does Like Ugly. This 15-track album showcases JID’s maximalist style with stacked features, dense lyricism, and dramatic beat switches. Leaning into his narrative, each song has its own message and theme.

In his lyricism, he explores spirituality, ambition, love, personal growth, and emotional resilience. The sound has a dynamic quality, constantly shifting and developing. It builds as the message intensifies, sometimes feeling almost entranced as it satisfyingly grips the listener’s attention.

Trying to stuff the production of this album into one box would cause it to spill over the top; choirs are singing, DJs are spinning, instrumentalists are plucking guitars and playing keys. Gospel influenced songs like “Glory” and “Wholeheartedly” have choirs harmonizing in the background and snippets of a pastor preaching. While tracks such as “You Ugly” and “On McAfee” are more aggressive and tantalizing, with more pronounced trap beats. In contrast, Jessie Reyez and Ciara bring a melodic R&B sound to the tracks “No Boo” and “Sk8.”

The chaos of this genre-switching album is settled by the seamless transitions woven into each track. Many tracks incorporate beat switches in the middle of the song, shifting the tone as the storytelling intensifies. “K-Word,” featuring Pastor Troy, opens with a gradual groove and a subtle drum kick that grows more pronounced as JID’s flow becomes more aggressive.

JID seamlessly integrates the project’s features, using them to enhance the transitions between tracks. On “Wholeheartedly,” Ty Dolla $ign and 6lack’s harmonies gradually evolve as the instrumentals build. Their voices seamlessly blend, evolving the texture and emotion of the track. The production of God Does Like Ugly consistently supports the emotional depth of the lyrics through effective layering.

JID brings a lot of versatility with his lyrics and features. “Community,” a track featuring Clipse, explores the shared history between the duo and JID, rooted in Virginia—the state where Clipse grew up and JID attended college. Vince Staples is featured on the song “VCRs,” a piece highlighting the world’s transformations driven by financial shifts. Staples’ flow is simple but driven, rapping: “We turn the VCRs to dinosaurs / The money we spend just leave us wanting more.” Baby Kia’s unhinged persona is featured on the track “On McAfee.” JID’s confrontational lyrics are complemented by his ad-libs, which have an explosive energy.

Overall, JID did a good job incorporating different music styles into this album. However, listening to this album from beginning to end felt jarring at times. Sonically, the tracks transition nicely, but each song is like the start of a different movie. The absence of a clear theme hinders my ability to look at this album as a unified piece of work. While it has strong individual tracks, its sequencing feels disjointed. It took several listens to find the standout tracks in this album.

Picking apart this album piece by piece can feel overwhelming, but not necessarily in a bad way. JID has so many moving parts, from beat switches to genre to tone to mood. The unpredictable production style allows JID’s technical agility to shine. He has truly mastered the art of the chaotic flow state, and as a result, God Does Like Ugly is a versatile album that is worth listening to.