Atlanta’s J.I.D is back with a new single, “Surround Sound,” a collaboration with fellow hometown heroes 21 Savage and Baby Tate.
“Surround Sound” begins pretty melodically, with J.I.D and 21 Savage trading rapid-fire verses over a moody, piano-heavy beat. After Baby Tate appears, however, the whole song switches up, chaos ensues, and a much heavier beat replaces the original melody. “We trappin’ on the low,” J.I.D admits as bass blasts.
The single’s accompanying video, directed by Mac Grant and Chad Tennies, mirrors its changing moods. In the beginning, the three rappers live it up with their crew, dancing in and on top of cars. When the beat changes, however, the clip shifts to black and white, depicting shots of violence. By song’s end, J.I.D’s posse is gone — instead, about 10 doubles of the same rapper run wild in the same house. Sometimes you have to be your own friend, it seems.
“Surround Sound” offers the first look at J.I.D’s long-teased third album, The Forever Story. While no release date has been revealed, the record is expected to drop this year. J.I.D’s last album was 2018’s DiCaprio 2. Earlier this month, we learned we could also look forward to a J.I.D feature on Denzel Curry’s forthcoming album Melt My Eyez See Your Future. As for 21 Savage, the rapper most recently collaborated with Rick Ross on our Rap Song of the Week, “Outlawz,” while Baby Tate guested on Princess Nokia’s single “Boys Are from Mars.”
