JID's finally hit their stride with “Surround Sound”

After more than a decade on the mic, JID finally has a major hit on his hands.

“Surround Sound” featuring Baby Tate and 21 Savage has been steadily climbing the Billboard Hot 100 chart for months. The track currently sits at No. 43, but reached No. 1 on the Rhythmic Airplay Chart on Tuesday (March 5), thanks in part to TikTok's Ceiling Challenge last year.

How did “Surround Sound” blow up?

The song, which appears on the Dreamville member's 2022 album, The Forever Story, started gaining traction on the video sharing app in late 2023. The challenge involves people sticking their phones to the ceiling to produce a panoramic effect as they dance to the dance floor. The song, in turn, ruled the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart for two weeks in December.

The solo hit, produced by Christo, DJ Scheme and Nurі, is an achievement that JID deserved considering the commendable level of his lyrical talent and how long it took him to get to this point. About seven years into a more mainstream regime. Born and raised in Atlanta, the 33-year-old rapper began making a name for himself after the 2012 release Path of Evilof 2013 Despite Him and 2015 DiCaprio before touring alongside Ab-Soul and EarthGang.

This tour caught the attention of J. Cole, who signed him to Dreamville in 2017. JID then created a good buzz with his debut album, The story of never specifically with the songs “Never” and “EdEddnEddy,” later that year. From there he joined in 2018 XXL Freshman Class. People had a lot to say about the inclusion and critics felt that he was too unknown to be placed on the cover.

“I love the question we get, what is JID? What is JID?” XXL said Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten Breakfast Club in 2018.

JID keeps going up after that XXL Freshman class

JID's gradual rise continued after Freshman. His performance of “Working Out” on the YouTube channel Colored went viral, with many rap fans comparing the young Atlanta rapper to a Kendrick Lamar-level talent. He linked up with Imagine Dragons for their song “Enemy,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2022. After that, his lyrical talents began to permeate rap fans everywhere. Despite the support, a chart-topping solo hit eluded JID. Even after its release The Forever Storyhis most anticipated project, the rapper admitted in interviews that he was disappointed by the project's reception.

“Everything's too fast, so it's not really like rap,” JID said of the state of rap in Flying fits podcast in 2023. “People don't really care about it. Even though it's grown in popularity, it's moving extremely fast and I don't think people really care about it… I think it's more about being viral or being the first to get — I don't know. I have a strange theory about it.”

Regardless of JID's thoughts on virality, it looks like going viral with “Surround Sound” has been pretty good for the Dreamville rapper thanks to the Ceiling Challenge. It's a long overdue moment for a rapper who deserved it years ago.