It’s been a minute since we’ve heard some new music from the legendary Black Thought, with his most recent verse arriving alongside Eminem, Q-Tip, and Royce Da 5’9″ on “Yah Yah.” Today, Thought has come through with a stay-at-home variation of the NPR Tiny Desk Concert, which finds him revisiting songs from his recent Streams Of Thought volumes, as well as premiering some three new songs in the process.

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The new tracks “Thought Vs. Everybody,” “Yellow,” and “Nature Of The Beast,” which features contributions from Portugal, The Man, are set to arrive on his upcoming Streams of Thought Vol. 3 EP, though we have yet to receive an official date. In the meantime, Thought’s seventeen-minute set provides plenty of material to unpack, his sharpened delivery never missing a step. Though he appears completely relaxed in stance, almost wizardly with that graying beard, his lyrics are no less deadly than they’ve ever been. 

Not to mention the quiet flex of a wall lined with platinum plaques and an actual Grammy overlooking the scene, propped up by a stack of Thought’s favorite book club selections. Clearly, few can match wits with the intellectual mastermind — with or without the socks and sandals combination. Check out Black Thought’s official contribution to the Tiny Desk cause, and keep an eye out for that Streams Of Thought Vol. 3. 

Snoh Aalegra is officially joining the Roc Nation family after the most successful year in her music career. The deal she has signed is an official joint label venture between Roc Nation and ARTium Recordings, a company that she has been signed to for the past five years and was developed by legendary producer, No I.D. ARTium Recordings currently has one of the most esteemed rosters is all of music with acts like Common, Cocaine 80s, Jhene Aiko, Vince Staples, and more. Now, with Snoh Aalegra teaming up with Jay Z's Roc Nation imprint, she's preparing to take her already majorly successful career to the next level in the coming years.  

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At the tender age of just nine-years-old Aalegra, born Shahrzad Fooladi, began writing her own music. At 13, the Persian songstress signed her very first artist development deal with Sony Music Sweden in 2001. Now, after years of hard work and dedication the "Situationship" singer has released two studio albums in the past three years with her most successful being her sophomore musical offering, Ugh, Those Feels Again (2019). The 32-year-old's sonically soothing vibrations allowed her to peak at the 39th slot on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and 76 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart. 

TDE‘s SiR has quickly become one of R&B’s leading men, bringing no shortage of Inglewood soul to his recent slew of releases. Now, the singer has linked up with NPR for a Tiny Desk Concert, the ideal platform to highlight his impressive vocal chops. 

SiR – John Redcorn

Though he opts to skip the beautiful banger “Hair Down,” SiR spends some time with a few of his more soulful cuts. The fifteen-minute performance features stripped-down renditions of “The Recipe,” “New Sky,” “Wires In The Way” and “John Redcorn,” all of which stem from last year’s Chasing Summer. His emotive voice is captivating off the bat, sliding effortlessly into a vibrant falsetto; there’s a rawness to his tone, laid bare without processing to fall back on. 

Fueled by love, SiR even brought his older brother and sister to handle the backup vocals. After making the introductions, SiR took a moment to dedicate the performance to his godson’s memory. “So December 31st 2019, I lost my godson,” he reveals. “He was fourteen months old. His name was Sir Harrsion. I want to say my condolences to his family and tell him I love him. We’re doing this today for him. I didn’t want to come to be honest, it took a lot for me to even be here.” Check out the full performance below, and show some love to the SiR in the comments.

Wale has proven himself time and again to be an artist who values his message. And sometimes, a message is best delivered in intimate fashion to be conveyed most effectively. As such, Wale has decided to take his talents to NPR for his first Tiny Desk Concert, and we’re happy to see him do it. Especially seeing as his lush new album Wow…That’s Crazy seems the perfect candidate for the live and unplugged treatment.

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NPR’s Bobby Carter details his experience speaking with Wale en route to the event. “I was talking to J. Cole about me doing this,” revealed the rapper. “He told me to just do my thing, but I wish I had more time to work this set out.” On that note, the set in question consisted of several hits, as Wale ran through “Lotus Flower Bomb,” “LoveHate Thing,” “CC White,” “Sexy Lady,” “Sue Me,” and “On Chill.” 

With the backing band guiding the ride, Wale holds it down with class, his flow gliding over smooth arrangements. The audience loves every minute of it, though there is one key distinction between Tiny Desk and the traditional rap concert. “It’s not the show love, it’s that ‘I’ve got to get to work in the morning and some of my superiors are watching me,'” laughs Wale. “Ya’ll giving me that love, giving me that energy I needed to do this shit.” Check out Wale tearing it down for NPR, and show some love in the comments.