Atlanta rapper JID took the stage at Chicago’s Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom on Saturday night, delivering a high-energy set to a packed venue.
Chicago was the third stop on JID’s “God Does Like Paradise” tour, which is supporting his Aug. 8 album “God Does Like Ugly.”
As fans flowed into the venue, openers Chris Patrick, Swavay and Young Nudy warmed up the crowd with electrifying trap beats.
Nudy, a fellow East Atlanta native, released his latest project “Paradise” the same day JID’s album dropped, so the tour was a prime opportunity for both artists to showcase fresh tracks.
JID made his entrance decked out in a black leather jacket, baggy denim pants and a sideways cap. He kicked off his set with “YouUgly,” the first track off his newest album.
After playing a handful of songs from “God Does Like Ugly,” JID transitioned into songs from earlier albums.
“Let’s go back to some of the stuff that set the foundation,” he said to the crowd before his producer Christo cued up the next song, “Raydar.”
JID also played a fan-favorite, “Kody Blu 31” from his album “The Forever Story.” The song served as a welcome change of pace for the set: a slow, emotional and soulful R&B track that captivated the audience. “Swang on, swang on,” the audience sang along, choir-like.
The rapper’s hit song “Dance Now” needed no introduction. All JID had to do was sing the instantly recognizable opening melody, a sample taken from a wordless Hasidic folk tune: “Bum-bum-ba-dum-bum-bum-bum.”
From there, the whole crowd waited on its toes for the beat to drop before erupting into synchronized chants and jumping along to the track’s infectious rhythm.
For the second verse, JID pointed the mic into the crowd and let the audience take over on the alliteration-heavy lyrics, just long enough for him to catch his breath before reclaiming control of the rap anthem.
Since beginning his career in the early 2010s, JID has stood out in the industry thanks to his complex flow, animated vocal performance and the rapid-fire pace of his delivery. In his recordings, many of his tongue-twisting lyrics seem impossible to perform live, but as Saturday night’s performance proved, when it comes to his superhuman rapping, JID does all his own stunts.
JID ended his set with “Stick,” a gritty, abrasive anthem from the 2022 Dreamville-produced compilation “D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape.” He brought his opening acts back up to the stage, and fans mustered any energy they had left for this final song, turning the crowd into one big, sweaty moshpit.
Fans left the Aragon Ballroom with an adrenaline rush similar to the feeling of getting off a roller coaster. Even as they walked out of the venue and into the pouring rain, they were still singing JID’s iconic choruses and rapping along to his catchiest bars.
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