Destin Route (born October 31,1990), better known by his stage name J.I.D, is an American rapper and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records. His debut album, The Never Story, was released on March 10, 2017.[1][2]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Musical career 2.1 2010-16: Career beginnings 2.2 2017-18: The Never Story 2.3 2018-present: DiCaprio 2 3 Artistry 3.1 Influence 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Extended plays 4.3 Mixtapes 4.4 Compilation albums 4.5 Singles 4.5.1 As lead artist 5 Tours 6 References Early life

Destin Route was born October 31, 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia, The youngest of seven children, Route grew up listening to Sly & The Family Stone and Earth, Wind & Fire before moving onto the 1990s New York Hip-Hop scene and rappers like Jay-Z, Nas and Mobb Deep. In high school he spent most of his teen years playing football as a defensive back. J.I.D also ran track.[3] He was eventually offered a football scholarship to a University.[4]

After returning from Virginia, J.I.D started to live with his parents again until he was kicked out, eventually moving in with Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus from EarthGang which he met from his time in Virginia.

Musical career 2010-16: Career beginnings

Taking the name J.I.D from his grandmother's nickname for him as a child, Route released his first mixtape, Route of All Evil on June 25, 2012 with guest features from EarthGang and Stillz. Route funded his music career with jobs at call centres and Domino's Pizza where he was a delivery boy before he started to get booked for local live shows.[4][5] On October 22, 2013, his second mixtape was released titled Para Tu. The mixtape was later re-released on December 29, 2017.[6][7][8]

In 2014, he opened up with EarthGang and Bas on Ab-Soul's These Days Tour following the release of Spillage Village's first compilation album, Bears Like This. On January 26, 2015, he released his first extended play DiCaprio EP.[9] On July 6, Spillage Village released their first compilation album Bears Like This Too.[10] He also toured with Omen on the Elephant Eyes Tour and Bas on the Too High to Riot Tour. On December 2, 2016, Spillage Village released Bears Like This Too Much with features from J. Cole and Bas, and production from Mac Miller, Ducko Mcfli, Childish Major and J. Cole among others.[11]

2017-18: The Never Story Main article: The Never Story

On February 20, 2017, it was announced that he had signed to J. Cole's Dreamville label – a connection made with the rapper via J.I.D's part in the 2014 tour with Bas and Cole's friend and producer Cedric Brown – which released the single "Never". The full-length album, The Never Story was released on March 10, 2017. The album includes guest features from EarthGang, 6LACK, and Mereba, and production from J. Cole and Childish Major, among others.[12][13] He later released three more music videos from the album: "D/vision", "Hereditary", and "EdEddnEddy".

He was also an opening act on the 4 Your Eyez Only Tour in 2017 in the North American and European legs.[14] On October 10, J.I.D appeared alongside rappers Cozz, Kodie Shane and Ali Tomineek in a cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards.[15] In November 2017, J.I.D co-headlined in his Never Had Shit Tour with EarthGang, and guests Lute, Chaz French, and Mereba. It included 15 dates in North America, and continued in 2018, with 19 dates in Europe.[16] On December 13, J.I.D appeared on a remix with Foster The People and Saba called "Pay The Man".[17]

2018-present: DiCaprio 2

In June 2018, he was featured on the cover of XXL's 2018 Freshman Class.[18] In July, he was featured on Denzel Curry’s "Sirens" from Ta13oo, and was announced he would go on tour with Mac Miller and Thundercat.[19] His second album DiCaprio 2 is slated to be released in the fall of 2018.[20]

Artistry Influence

Growing up, J.I.D's first connection with music was through his parents' collection of classic funk and soul LPs.[21] He names Sly and the Family Stone, D'Angelo, Wu-Tang Clan, Little Dragon, boom-bap, New York hip hop and Arctic Monkeys as his biggest influences.[22][23]

Discography Studio albums List of albums, with album details and selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions US[24] USR&B/HH USRap The Never Story Released: March 10, 2017 Label: Dreamville Records, Interscope Records Format: CD, digital download 197 — — DiCaprio 2 Released: September 2018 Label: Dreamville, Interscope Format: CD, digital download To be released "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.