Remember around this time last week when I wrote that JID is the best rapper of his generation? Well, here’s his NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert to help hammer that point home. Adding a jazzy, soulful live band only enhances the JID experience, but make no mistake; JID is the star of this show, and everything he does earns that distinction. His charisma is on full display here, as is his impressive breath control, wit, and wordplay as he runs through selections from his new album The Forever Story.
The 31-year-old Dreamville rapper’s star has been on the rise since dropping his 2018 album DiCaprio 2 and his appearance on the 2018 XXL Freshman list. In the years between then and now, he has utterly stolen the show on Dreamville’s compilation album Revenge Of The Dreamers III, earning his first platinum plaque in the process, led his group, Spillage Village, on their inspiring group album Spilligion, and has run rampant on a string of guest appearances on songs like Conway The Machine’s “Scatter Brain,” Imagine Dragons’ “Enemy,” John Legend’s “Dope,” and many, many more. The hard work has paid off: The Forever Story’s No. 12 debut on the Billboard 200 makes it the highest-charting Dreamville debut outside of J. Cole and marks a 29-spot jump from DiCaprio’s No. 41 debut. In the words of JID’s Dreamville team captain J. Cole, a star is born.