Album Review: God Does Like Ugly by J.I.D

The Atlanta rapper returns with his fourth studio album.

When J.I.D released The Forever Story in 2022, it was quickly recognized as one of the best rap albums to be released that year. In 2025, the Dreamville MC started to tease a new project and released the single “WRK” in April. J.I.D later announced his next album would be called, God Does Like Ugly.

Full of intricate lyricism, versatile flows, and creative beat switches, God Does Like Ugly starts off with “YouUgly”, with a feature from Westside Gunn. On “Glory”, J.I.D addresses his religious beliefs and being raised in Atlanta, with a beat that samples a gospel choir. “Community” is an aggressive, hard-hitting track, featuring phenomenal verses from Clipse as well.

In terms of the sounds of the album, it balances brash, intense wordplay with melodic songs. Songs such as “Sk8”, “Wholeheartedly”, and “Of Blue” showcase J.I.D’s vocal ability and skill as an artist.

Overall, God Does Like Ugly is a fantastic project, further cementing J.I.D as one of the best lyricists in hip-hop today.

Album Grade: 

  1. YouUgly (ft. Westside Gunn)-8.5/10  
  1. Glory-9/10 
  1. WRK-10/10 
  1. Community (ft. Clipse)-10/10 
  1. Gz-9/10 
  1. VCRs (ft. Vince Staples)-9/10 
  1. Sk8 (ft. Ciara & EarthGang)-8/10 
  1. What We On (ft. Don Toliver)-7/10 
  1. Wholeheartedly (ft. Ty Dolla $ign & 6lack)-9/10 
  1. No Boo (ft. Jessie Reyez)-8.5/10 
  1. And We Vibing (Interlude) 
  1.  On McAfee (Baby Kia)-8/10 
  1. Of Blue (ft. Mereba)-9/10 
  1. K-Word (ft. Pastor Troy)-9/10 
  1. For Keeps- 9/10 

Overall Rating: 8.8/10