DJ Tay James, Justin Bieber’s official DJ, hosted each of these three mixtapes. Route of Evil was released in June 2012 as J.I.D’s third mixtape. J.I.D was expelled from Hampton at some point during his senior year. He released his second mixtape, CakeWalk 2, in June 2011. The tape also marked two of his earliest collaborations with EARTHGANG. His first mixtape, CakeWalk, was released in May 2010 and featured a number of friends from Hampton. At that time, he was nicknamed ‘Jidd’ and released music under multiple variations of that name. J.I.D began attending Hampton University on a football scholarship in the fall of 2008.
Route grew up listening to Sly and the Family Stone and Earth, Wind & Fire before shifting to the 1990s New York hip-hop scene and rappers such as Jay-Z, Nas and Mobb Deep. The youngest of seven children, he adopted the moniker J.I.D from his grandmother’s nickname for him based on his "jittery" behavior. He released his second album DiCaprio 2 on Novemto positive reviews and critical acclaim.ĭestin Choice Route was born Octoin Atlanta, Georgia. His debut studio album, The Never Story, was released on Mato critical acclaim and included the single "NEVER". Cole's Dreamville Records and Interscope Records, where he began gaining recognition after releasing several independent projects such as Route of Evil (2012) and Para Tu (2013). He is part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010, with Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, and 6lack, among others. Cole, EarthGang, Smino, Spillage Villageĭestin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name J.I.D (stylized and pronounced JID), is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia.