NEW YORK (AP) — On paper, the tune is perhaps an uncommon pairing, or one thing resembling Mad Libs. Two Atlanta rappers with idiosyncratic kinds — Offset’s melodic, aggressive movement and the dexterous lyricist JID — talking the identical language on “Bodies.”
Their collaboration, largely recorded in China, arrives atop a pattern of nu-metal band Drowning Pool’s 2001 minimize “Bodies.” It is grow to be a 2025 Billboard Scorching 100 hit of their very own, and it doubles as an ode to self-determination — standing your floor and dealing towards evolution.
“As soon as he played it, it was like history,” JID says of listening to their “Bodies” for the primary time. “The production is one of my favorite compositions I ever recorded over.”
It additionally serves as a type of introduction of a brand new period for each artists, who each have new albums this month.
A brand new perspective from JID
Within the post-“Our bodies” glow, JID launched his fourth album, “God Does Like Ugly” final week. The title is a play on his grandmother’s Southern colloquialism, “God don’t like ugly.”
“It’s more intentional,” he says of his new launch. “The last project was more of an origin story, where I came from until now,” he says of 2022’s elastic “The Forever Story.”
“This one is closer, up to date, of where I am mentally — and my perspective of the industry.”
That is instantly clear on the virtuosic “God Does Like Ugly” and its formidable record of collaborators, Clipse, Ciara, Don Toliver and Vince Staples amongst them.
It is also evident on the lead single, “WRK,” an examination of ambition, and the stunning run as much as his album launch. JID launched into the J. Cole-inspired “Dollar & A Dream” Tour, a sequence of unique performances throughout the U.S., the place attendees solely wanted to pay a buck for entry.
“I just thought it was a cool idea. A great way to be intimate and see your fans,” he says. “Getting to perform the new songs for them every night is perfect.”
Offset appears inward
Drive is actually one thing the pair have in frequent, however on the subject of their new releases, the comparisons finish there. Offset will launch “Kiari,” his third solo album on Aug. 22. The title is his authorized title — a direct reflection of the album he calls “a look in the mirror.” He says it is a assortment of “different versions of Offset, which comes from Kiari … I’m always trying to rebrand and recreate.”
The place his final launch, “Set It Off,” sought to “bring rap back, not so much melody,” as he advised The Related Press in 2023, “Kiari” combines the perfect of each worlds.
He says he is pulling from “life events” on the album. “It feels very personal,” he says. “Not just about what I’m speaking on, but how serious the moment in time is for me to prevail.”
“’Set It Off’ was a freedom,” he provides, proof that he might shine as a solo artist exterior of Migos, the group that launched his profession.
“Kiari,” as an alternative, is “me, for what I am. And recognizing who I am, because I feel like sometimes you could get lost in trying to please other people and trying to do what they want you to do. So, this is like my rebellion. My rebellion album.”
And he is obtained an A-list crew of collaborations serving to him insurgent: Not simply JID, but in addition Gunna, Key Glock, YoungBoy By no means Broke Once more, Ty Dolla $ign, Teezo Landing and maybe most stunning of all, John Legend on the emotive “Never Let Go.” He says it’s for the late Takeoff, his Migos bandmate and cousin, who died in a 2022 taking pictures.
“It’s a song for him,” says Offset. “The last album, I had not did a song (for him) because I couldn’t during the time.”
Even nonetheless, “Never Let Go” was a problem. “The song is beautiful. I was able to be vulnerable on the song and speak and say certain things I’ve never said out loud.”
“Kiari” can also be Offset’s first new album for the reason that beginning of his third daughter with rapper Cardi B in September, shortly after she filed for divorce from him.
It’s possible followers will learn the ultimate monitor on the album, “Move On,” to be about their relationship. He says it is merely “about moving on peacefully. That’s what the message is supposed to be: moving on peacefully.”
He chosen to finish the album that technique to “end that chapter, just move on. It’s over and done with. It was great while it lasted. That shouldn’t be the topic for neither one of us no more. It’s a book that’s closed.”
