Dreamville recording artist JID delivered The Forever Story on August 26, 2022. The studio LP hosts the “Kody Blu 31” track.
“Kody Blu 31” includes audio from the funeral of JID’s grandmother. Apple Music’s Ebro Darden spoke to the Atlanta-bred rapper about his decision to add the burial ceremony on his album.
“The way it starts is actually at my grandma’s funeral. I have the actual footage. I’m sitting there crying, holding the phone, recording this because I know it’s a big moment,” explains JID. “A couple of years before that we lost my other grandma on my mother’s side. This is my dad’s mother we lost.”
The Spillage Village member also said, “Recording this, my dad is singing his heart out on this recording. At the beginning of the song, if you listen to it, the first 15, 20 seconds, you could hear my whole family singing.”
JID continued, “You could hear my mama say, ‘Thank you, Lord.’ It’s super powerful, and it’s just literally about keep pushing through. The song is saying, ‘Swing on, swing on.’ It’s a choir-type feel. My family is all over the album.”
The Forever Story features guest appearances from Kenny Mason, EarthGang, 21 Savage, Baby Tate, Lil Durk, Ari Lennox, Yasiin Bey, Lil Wayne, Johntá Austin, Ravyn Lenae, and Eryn Allen Kane. JID’s album discography also includes 2017’s The Never Story and 2018’s DiCaprio 2.
The 31-year-old emcee contributed to Dreamville’s Platinum-certified The Revenge of the Dreamers III compilation as well. Earlier this year, JID scored his highest-charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Enemy” (#5), a collaboration with Rock band Imagine Dragons.