With its stripped-down setting, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert easily exposes any flaws in an artist’s live performances, but East Atlanta rapper JID came prepared with a meticulously crafted seven-song set highlighting both his prodigious rapping abilities and vocal pipes. If the Dreamville rhymer hadn’t mentioned it was put together with his live band in only “a couple of days,” nobody would have been able to tell.
After kicking off the set with “Galaxy,” the opener from his latest album, The Forever Story, JID went back in time by running through rearranged versions of “Working Out” and “Off da Zoinkys” from his 2018 LP DiCaprio 2 and then turned up for “Never,” a hard-hitting cut from his debut album, The Never Story, that he called one of his favorite songs ever.
JID followed up by looping back to The Forever Story for the family-oriented “Sistanem” before busting into the previous Rap Song of the Week “Surround Sound.” He closed out the set by showing off his vocal prowess with a spiritual performance of “Kody Blu 31.”
Watch JID’s full Tiny Desk Concert below.
The Forever Story nearly earned JID his first Top 10 on the Billboard 200, entering the chart at No. 12 during its first week. This marked a sizeable jump from DiCaprio 2, which debuted at No. 41. The album was preceded by the aforementioned “Surround Sound” and “Dance Now” featuring Kenny Mason.
