Isaiah Rashad aces his Tiny Desk Concert

Isaiah Rashad put everything into this Tiny Desk. His music comprises of blues just as much as hip-hop, and his strength lies in raw vulnerability, which he consistently expresses through honest songwriting. Album titles like The House is Burning and the latest, IT’S BEEN AWFUL, spell it out plainly: He’s going through it. Family, addiction, sexuality — no stone is unturned. Without studio effects, these Tiny Desk arrangements illuminate his melodic foundation and what he calls “rapping in hieroglyphics,” as he told NPR’s Rodney Carmichael. With bashful charm, the TDE veteran gives an ambitious, spiritually bookended 13-song set of his best work thus far.