JID: Tiny Desk Concert

Bobby Carter | September 8, 2022
Everything JID does is intricately detailed. He seems to care much more than the average emcee, and throughout this entire production, I felt his strong desire to get it right. The weight was lifted from his shoulders at the midway point of the set as he turned to his band, saying, "We're pretty hot guys. We're pretty f***ing hot." In this performance, recorded weeks before the release of his now widely praised third studio album, The Forever Story, the East Atlanta native performs songs from the album live for the first time, plus career-defining songs in ways we've never heard before.

The origin of JID makes up the puzzle pieces in The Forever Story. It's the story of a kid with derailed football dreams, searching for purpose until it found him. These are tales that many kids from the inner city can relate to — but what sets JID's story apart is that nobody raps like him. His music casts a wide net, considering history, family and hometown, and connecting with hip-hop enthusiasts and music nerds alike.

In these stripped-down versions of songs like "Never" and "Surround Sound," the focus is on how JID can manipulate pitch, bend words and hop from one cadence to another. After he playfully cuts the "Usher tension," he and his stacked band and backup singers close with the powerful and spiritual "Kody Blu 31."

SET LIST
"Galaxy"
"Workin Out"
"Off da Zoinkys"
"Never"
"Sistanem"
"Surround Sound"
"Kody Blu 31"

MUSICIANS
JID: vocals
Najinga Luster: vocals
Rashida Chitunda: vocals
Teja Lanier Veal: bass
Grady Housworth: trombone
Allan Knighton: saxophone
Michael Cruse: trumpet
Samuel Williams: keys
Divante Davis: drums

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Director: Kara Frame
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Editor: Joshua Bryant
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Michael Zamora, Alanté Serene
Audio Assistant: Andie Huether
Production Assistants: Jill Britton, Joby Tanseco
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Maia Stern
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#TinyDesk #NPRMusic #JID

[nprmusic]

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[nado]

rappers with live jazz bands needs to be a standard, every single tiny desk like that has been phenomenal. the audio mixing is god tier also

[Lakeone_]

JID really dropped an AOTY contender and said "let's spoil the fans with a Tiny Desk too"

[YerpDerp]

When he said he was doing "a little more singing" on this track, and the one back up singer clapped her hands as to show how excited and happy she is for him to actually be confident in his singing is just wonderful to see. Being supportive and excited for others is a beautiful thing.

[tylerhughey]

Bro on the piano was going absolutely NUTS… big respect to him 🙏🏼

[stevenc]

the pianist actually doing off the zoinkys loop flawlessly is not getting enough praise

[alion]

Certified Tiny Desk Classic in the making

[jakealex]

JID has entered the tiny desk hall of fame with this

[tundrabancho]

JID is really popular and still crazy underrated

[marcellusvinci]

SET LIST
0:01 "Galaxy"
0:50 "Workin Out"
3:36 "Off da Zoinkys"
5:45 JID introduce BAND members
7:02 "Never"
9:35 "Sistanem"
12:25 "Surround Sound"
15:37 Usher eyes lol
16:11 "Kody Blu 31"

[eaJMusic]

HOW DOES THIS ONLY HAVE 1.7MIL VIEWS THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST TINY DESKS I'VE

[lonewalkerproductions]

Tiny Desk is a great way to gauge raw skill. And so here we see a disciplined, hardworking and extremely skilled musician in JID. The way he enunciates his words and very naturally delivers his music is nothing short of legendary

[denrico]

I need this group of people to make a jid live album IMMEDIATELY.

[nathanbattle]

0:22 Galaxy
0:57 Workin’ Out
3:37 Off da Zoinkys
7:03 Never
9:50 Sistanem
12:45 Surround Sound
16:20 Kody Blu 31

[vinnymaye]

This whole set is just beyond beautiful. Background singers, band, and JID himself killed this and chose the perfect songs for this.

[sabrinalugano]

JID is here to stay. Still slept on just like the Grill Royal song by Juicy and Smook but the people will wake up. They‘re gonna keep growing

[kevinschwartz]

JID is definitely one of the most artistic rappers ever to do it. His tone, wordplay, cadence, charisma is unmatched

[CJBSwelloh]

this man’s control in his flow and verses is insane. he makes it sound effortless

[lex]

This is up there with Anderson paak and Mac Millers Tiny desk concerts which are two of the best in my opinion. I remember watching this guys XXL Freshman class a few years back he stood out then and has not disappointed since.

[cruzclark]

I've showed so many people JID this week alone, The Forever Story is going to take his career to the next level. 10/10, props.