Key Takeaways:
- JID’s “32 (Freestyle)” flips Playboi Carti’s “HBA” into a lyrical mission statement for his next era.
- The surprise ‘PRELUXE’ edition, slated to drop on Friday (July 4), may offer fans an early glimpse of the album’s creative direction.
- JID continues his rollout momentum following April’s “WRK.”
JID’s next album, God Does Like Ugly, is due to drop in August, but the Atlanta rapper isn’t rolling it out empty-handed. On Tuesday (July 1), the Dreamville lyricist gave fans a taste of what's to come with “32 (Freestyle),” along with news that they'll be getting a PRELUXE version of the project.
Rapping over Playboi Carti’s “HBA” instrumental, JID comes through with bars like, “I was dumb, I know wisdom come with the age / I want some, I go get some, sick of the waitin' / I settin' the stones for 20-somethin' summers of patience.” Elsewhere, he fittingly name-drops Opium Records — Playboi Carti’s label imprint — Public Enemy, and even the viral incident where Lil Tjay spat on a security guard at MSG.
Toward the end of the accompanying visualizer, JID confirms that his PRELUXE will officially arrive on Friday (July 4). Until then, stream “32 (Freestyle)” below.
While the full tracklist for God Does Like Ugly is still under wraps, JID did roll out the album’s lead single, “WRK,” in April. Fans first caught wind of the track when he previewed it at Dreamville Fest’s fifth edition earlier that month.
As for the project’s title, the Atlanta rapper explained the mindset behind it: “I live my life by the saying, ‘You can only control what you can control.’ So, this is the first step into a new world that I control… and it’’s f**kin ugly.” The album will serve as his much-anticipated follow-up to 2022’s The Forever Story, which featured the TikTok favorite “Surround Sound” alongside Baby Tate and 21 Savage.
Aside from his own music, JID recently hopped on Offset’s “Bodies." It marked their first-ever collaboration, and a strong one at that. The track debuted at No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 5.