What Does JID’s ‘30 Freestyle’ Say About His Growth As An Artist?

Over the last few years, Atlanta-bred rapper JID has established himself among today’s budding milieu as one of the most formidable forces on Dreamville’s stacked roster.

From his 2017 debut album, The Never Story, to his most recent project, 2022’s The Forever Story, JID’s craft has evolved immensely. When it comes to his tactful control of various core ingredients in his music — metaphor, subject matter, double entendre, fluent rapping style, wordplay, colorful allusions and more — the quick-paced spitter is seemingly competing against himself every time he drops something new and is arguably in a complete league of his own. 

While he hasn’t dropped an independent single since 2022, he went on an interminable tear with his features. Some of his highlights include “Blakkboyz present Half Doin Dope/Van Gogh,” featuring Lil Yachty and BabyTron, and “Mamas PrimeTime,” along with Griselda’s Conway the Machine from Westside Gunn’s fifth studio album And Then You Pray for Me, which dropped in October. 

Kicking the year off, JID dropped the track and accompanying visual for his recent track, “30 Freestyle.”

Foreshadowing what’s to come in the new year, JID shows off his lyrical acumen again with more clever wordplay, vivid imagery and understated braggadocio, which has become his signature bread and butter over the years.

Teaming up with his flagship producer Christo, newcomer Tane Runo and Grammy Award-winning producer Conductor Williams, JID has kicked off the year, reminding everyone that he’s always been No. 1.

Doubling down from last year’s “29 Freestyle,” the two tracks reinforce that JID’s lyrical mastery improves yearly and that the only thing that can stop him from bolstering his skillset is himself. He gets better and better each year.

In August, the Atlanta rapper hinted at the prospect of dropping his next record, “Forever & A Day,” stating that it was supposed to drop in Q4 of 2023 on his Instagram livestream.

According to a report from Revolt, he said, “I think I’ma give y’all an album before this Metro s**t come out, [the] Forever & A Day project. I’m just making godd**n announcements right quick.” He added, “But we’re doing this Forever & A Day project, coming out in fall time. Prolly 10 to 12 songs, d**n near almost done.” 

This prophecy has yet to come to fruition, but perhaps the release of “30 Freestyle” is a step in the right direction.