With so many artists performing entire concerts from their own living rooms lately, it was only a matter of time before NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series got in on the action. After kicking off the Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series in March with Soccer Mommy, NPR has kept the party going with an eclectic roster of guests including Margo Price, Michael McDonald, and Tank from Tank and The Bangas. The latest addition to the collection is none other than The Roots’ Black Thought, whose performance doubles as the first entry into his own Streams Of Thought series.
While explaining that Streams Of Thought won’t always consist of musical performances, Thought does make his performance well-worth tuning into as he tears through a breathless rendition of “Thought Vs. Everybody” from his upcoming Streams of Thought Vol. 3 EP, then offers a preview of “Yellow” from his upcoming off-Broadway musical Black No More. The set closes with “Nature Of The Beast,” which also comes from the third Streams Of Thought EP, and features a guest appearance from Portugal. The Man, as well as a callback to “What We Do,” The 1995 Roots single that almost sparked a beef between Black Thought and The Notorious B.I.G.
Thought’s desk is impressive, with Grammys, gold and platinum plaques, and some thought-provoking reading material stacked up behind him, but the rapper is as relaxed as we’ve ever seen him as his lounges in his comfy armchair in socks and slides.
Watch Black Thought’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert above.