April 8, 2019 | Bobby Carter -- Georgia Anne Muldrow is all about showing and spreading love. That fact became clear as we discussed the set list for her Tiny Desk performance. She and the band were floating the possibility of swapping the duet with her partner in music and life, Dudley Perkins with another song. But she decided it was more important to showcase their shared love on the song "Flowers," originally from Perkins' 2003 album A Lil' Light.

The first song I ever heard from Georgia Anne Muldrow, back in the early 2000s, was called "Break You Down." The opening line spoke directly to my experience as a twentysomething coming into my own:

"Don't let them make you forget who you are
Don't let them break you down"

I later found that she wrote, produced and performed that song when she was only 17-years old. She possessed talent and perspective beyond her years and I became a fan.

Some time would pass before she eventually released her debut album, Olesi: Fragments of an Earth, in 2006. Since then, she's released well over a dozen, mostly self-produced projects. While much of her music's focus has been on the healing, preservation and education of African American people, the themes are universal: family, struggle and of course, love. The beats are a combination of J Dilla and Battlecat while her voice carries soul that sounds like it was groomed in the backwoods of Jackson, Miss. She's also made a name for herself as a collaborator with artists that include Madlib, Mos Def and Erykah Badu, with whom she introduced the notion of "staying woke" to the world, years before it was appropriated as a hashtag.

During her set, Muldrow performed, reworked and animated versions of the song "Flowers," along with two selections from her latest album, Overload, including an extended and jazzy version of "Ciao."

SET LIST
"Overload"
"Flowers"
"Ciao"

MUSICIANS
Georgia Anne Muldrow: lead vocals, bongo drum; Dudley Perkins: vocals; Bronson Garza: bass; Renaldo Elliott: drums; Mokichi: keys

CREDITS
Producers: Bobby Carter, CJ Riculan; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: CJ Riculan, Morgan Noelle Smith, Kimani Oletu, Beck Harlan; Production Assistant: Adelaide Sandstrom; Photo: Amr Alfiky/NPR

Feb. 28, 2019 | Rodney Carmichael -- The Lord works in mysterious ways. It might sound cliché, but there's really no better way to describe the circumstances that led to prolific producer Zaytoven's impromptu Tiny Desk.

Last month, Zaytoven arrived at Bob Boilen's desk with a full band in tow with the intent of backing up his Atlanta friend and collaborator Future, who had dropped his latest album, The Wzrd, earlier that day. The plan was to translate the bass-heavy trap sound Zaytoven helped originate to real instruments with Neil Garrard on guitar, Bernard "TreWay" Lambert on drums, DJ Spinz and Elena on flute (for what would've been a live version of "Mask Off").

After several hours of waiting, with the band all warmed up and ready, word came that Future would be a no-show. So, to our thrill, Zaytoven redeemed the occasion with his own Tiny Desk concert, featuring instrumental versions of a couple of the earliest hits he produced for Future's Beast Mode, the mixtape that helped usher their respective rebirths in 2015.

The Tiny Desk also served as the perfect platform to highlight Zaytoven's own career-long faith walk.

"I wasn't even allowed to listen to this type of music, let alone to be producing it," he told me a little over a year ago in the church outside Atlanta where he plays organ every Sunday morning. He was remembering how conflicted he'd once felt as a young producer who'd grown up in the church to be playing his trade for street artists like future trap god Gucci Mane (who Zaytoven would later back on keys during his first visit to the Tiny Desk). "To be the godfather of the sound, it was almost embarrassing for me, like, 'Hold on, bruh. This ain't really how I was brought up. This ain't really what I do.' I'm a guy that's in the church and I try to lead people more so that way."

Indeed, there's a long legacy of sanctified musicians who took their gift, honed in the choir stand, and went the secular route, before finally renouncing their fame and returning to their gospel roots. But Zaytoven sidestepped that guilt trip on the way to becoming one of the most celebrated and imitated hip-hop producers of the last decade. Where so many musicians before him fell into a morality trap, Zay found a way to make trap music his ministry.

"God made it where my sound has been heard over the years by millions of people," he said. Instead of preaching to the choir, he brought his faith to the trap.

Set List
"Lay Up"
"Peacoat"
"Mo Reala"

Musicians
Zaytoven: keys; Neil Garrard: guitar; Elena Pinderhughes: flute; DJ Spinz: DJ; Bernard "TreWay" Lambert: drums

Credits
Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kaylee Domzalski, Kimani Oletu; Editor: Kimani Oletu; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter

It's hard to imagine this quietly subtle performer belting out vocals in front of tens of thousands of fans as part of the wildly popular hip-hop group Calle 13. But Ileana Cabra, who performs solo as iLe, lives that kind of life.

She drew upon her first solo album (2016’s 'iLevitable') for this Lincoln Center Out Of Doors performance at New York's Damrosch Park, where she played the kind of music that inspires slow dancing rather than mosh pits. Along the way, Cabra manages the pivot with grace and not just a little bit of hip-hop swagger.

— FELIX CONTRERAS


CREDITS

Event Producer: Saidah Blount; Producers: Felix Contreras, Mito Habe-Evans, Colin Marshall; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Concert Video Director: Colin Marshall; Production Assistant: Brandi Fullwood; Concert Videographers: Kevin Chiu, Chris Farber, Nickolai Hammar, Niki Walker; Editor: Nicole Conflenti; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann; Special Thanks: Lincoln Center.

One of the best party bands around, Red Baarat plays rollicking funk music steeped in Northern India's wedding celebrations, with a dash of D.C. go-go beats and hip-hop. The dance-friendly group performs a loud, high-energy set at the NPR Music offices.

Set List:

"Chaal Baby"
"Shruggy Ji"
"Dhol 'n' Brass"

For more videos and to subscribe to the Tiny Desk Concerts podcast, visit npr.org/tinydeskconcerts.

We are Nerves Baddington. Darrell Nance filmed this video of us playing at our desk.

Grammy award winner and Chicago native Common took 'The Genius Test' to see how much he knows about his hometown’s music history. The quiz spanned several decades of Chicago hip-hop and gave 'The Chi' star an opportunity to flex his knowledge about OG acts like Crucial Conflict and fresher faces like Juice WRLD.

Read more on Genius: https://genius.com/a/common-ta....kes-the-chicago-hip-

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#common #thegeniustest #chicago

2019 NPR Tiny Desk Contest Submission:
Durham High - "Look Good"

VOCALS:
G Yamazawa (@gyamazawa)
Wreck-N-Crew (@triecartier + @dopesutton)

DRUMS: DeCarrio Graham (@asante2fresh)

BASS: Darion Alexander (@mrgroovology)

KEYS: Alan Thompson (@4the_cru)

Directed by Patrick Lincoln (@torchhouse.media)

Lighting by 36 North (@36northvideo)

Audio engineering by Travis Hall (@travishallrecording)

Original track produced by WAVMAN (@official_wavmanbeats)

(Durham, NC)

It's hard to imagine this quietly subtle performer belting out vocals in front of tens of thousands of fans as part of the wildly popular hip-hop group Calle 13. But Ileana Cabra, who performs solo as iLe, lives that kind of life.

She drew upon her first solo album (2016's 'iLevitable') for this Lincoln Center Out Of Doors performance at New York's Damrosch Park, where she played the kind of music that inspires slow dancing rather than mosh pits. Along the way, Cabra manages the pivot with grace and not just a little bit of hip-hop swagger.

— FELIX CONTRERAS


CREDITS

Event Producer: Saidah Blount; Producers: Felix Contreras, Mito Habe-Evans, Colin Marshall; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Concert Video Director: Colin Marshall; Production Assistant: Brandi Fullwood; Concert Videographers: Kevin Chiu, Chris Farber, Nickolai Hammar, Niki Walker; Editor: Nicole Conflenti; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann; Special Thanks: Lincoln Center.

Tijoux is proof that hip-hop knows no boundaries. In this intimate performance at the Tiny Desk, the French-born Chilean rapper held a mid-afternoon crowd enthralled with her rhythmic flow and songs from her most recent album, 1977.

Setlist:
"1977"
"La Rosa de los Vientos"
"Gol"

You can download the video by subscribing to the All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Concert Podcast at npr.org/tinydeskconcerts

For more go to npr.org/music

Jan. 3, 2018 | Rodney Carmichael -- Open Mike Eagle may have released one of the most political albums of 2017, but Brick Body Kids Still Daydream is also among the most personal. It comes across best in his live performances. For only the second time during his recent tour cycle, the LA-based artist played a set aided by the live instrumentation of musicians Jordan Katz (trumpet, keys, sampler), Josh Lopez (keys, sampler) and Brandon Owens (bass) for his Tiny Desk debut.

"Smells like lots of good soup in here," he said to the audience one-third of the way through his set. The arctic temps hadn't quite set in when he came to NPR's Washington, D.C. headquarters in December, but Open Mike still exuded plenty of warmth while performing two songs from the stellar LP he released last September.

The album made multiple NPR Music best-of-2017 lists and earned him widespread critical acclaim for its inspired look at the inhumane demolition of public housing across America. The way we talk about displacement today, you'd think it was a new phenomenon; unfortunately, our language tends to evolve faster than we do. It's been a decade since the last brick fell from the Robert Taylor Homes, the old Chicago Housing Authority project personified on the record. Yet, when it comes to excavating the politics of place, and all the racial implications inherent in cultural erasure, there is no project released in recent years that comes close.

The sound of a trumpet breathes an ominous air into his opener, "(How Could Anybody) Feel at Home." But it's the underlying sense of imagination, as he sings on the hook about superpowers and secrets impossible to un-see, that gives it lift. By the time he closes out the set with "Very Much Money," from his 2014 album Dark Comedy, it's apparent that Mike Eagle has come to represent those scraping to survive winter in America.

Set List

"(How Could Anybody) Feel at Home"

"Daydreaming in the Projects"

"Very Much Money"

MUSICIANS
Open Mike Eagle (vocals, sampler), Jordan Katz (trumpet, keys, sampler), Josh Lopez (keys, sampler), Brandon Owens (bass)

CREDITS
Producers: Rodney Carmichael, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Bronson Arcuri, Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR

For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

NBL is an Independent Rock/Soul/Neo Hip-Hop band that resides in the beautiful mountain town of Asheville, NC. "Abominable Creatures" is an unreleased NBL original recorded live for the purposes of the 2018 NPR tiny desk contest. Please, Please, leave a comment, like, follow, or share! PEACE FAM.

If you've only heard Lizzo's hit "Good As Hell" — and if you haven't, listen now, I'll wait — you might think the Twin Cities singer is a funny and ingratiating but fairly straightforward purveyor of self-affirmation and charismatic confidence. But as her joyful and explosive live show unfolded, complete with the arrival of the ecstatic backup dancers she calls "The Big Girls," it became clear that Lizzo has something more powerful going on.

Presiding over what she called "an all-female crew," Lizzo opened her set at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, Texas — recorded live Wednesday as part of NPR Music's SXSW showcase — with "Worship," a playful-but-potent demand to be treated right. ("Patiently, quietly, faithfully / Worship me.") But Lizzo also threw a telling cover into her Stubb's set list: a version of "Drone Bomb Me" by the singer ANOHNI, whom Lizzo described as "my hero" during Wednesday's show.

For a singer whose songs are so focused on celebration — and whose message of comfort with one's own identity and appearance is so crucial to her music — the inclusion of such a dark song seemed striking at first. "Drone Bomb Me," like much of ANOHNI's recent material, processes feelings of alienation through violent, masochistic imagery. As sung by Lizzo, placed among the cheerful likes of "Good As Hell" and "Coconut Oil," the song sent a different message: Lizzo's music, like ANOHNI's, is about loudly, provocatively and fearlessly making space for oneself in the world. As fun as Lizzo's music is, it feels like a revolution, too.

SET LIST
"Worship"
"Phone"
"Deep"
"Drone Bomb Me" (ANOHNI)
"Easy Easy"
"Scuse Me"
"Coconut Oil"
"Good As Hell"

CREDITS
Producers: Robin Hilton, Mito Habe-Evans; Technical Director: Josh Rogosin; Audio Engineer: Timothy Powell/Metro Mobile; Director: Mito Habe-Evans; Concert Videographers: Lizzie Chen, Nickolai Hammar, Katie Hayes Luke, Colin Marshall, Kelly West; Editor: Morgan Noelle Smith; Supervising Editor: Niki Walker; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann; Photo: Adam Kissick for NPR; Special Thanks: SXSW, Stubb's BBQ

It's hard to imagine this quietly subtle performer belting out vocals in front of tens of thousands of fans as part of the wildly popular hip-hop group Calle 13. But Ileana Cabra, who performs solo as iLe, lives that kind of life.

She drew upon her first solo album (2016’s 'iLevitable') for this Lincoln Center Out Of Doors performance at New York's Damrosch Park, where she played the kind of music that inspires slow dancing rather than mosh pits. Along the way, Cabra manages the pivot with grace and not just a little bit of hip-hop swagger.

— FELIX CONTRERAS


CREDITS

Event Producer: Saidah Blount; Producers: Felix Contreras, Mito Habe-Evans, Colin Marshall; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Concert Video Director: Colin Marshall; Production Assistant: Brandi Fullwood; Concert Videographers: Kevin Chiu, Chris Farber, Nickolai Hammar, Niki Walker; Editor: Nicole Conflenti; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann; Special Thanks: Lincoln Center.

March 25, 2019 | Bob Boilen -- I had a surprise for Chill Moody when he arrived at the Tiny Desk: a concealed strawberry shortcake (his favorite) for his 34th birthday. His musical partners, singer Donn T and the rest of his Philly crew known as &More, all brought out the cake and candles, sharing in the celebration. It was a fitting moment to have between the group's performance of inspirational songs. &More's music is often about the experience of being black in America, blending hip-hop and R&B with a motivational message and a Philadelphia flair. The three songs they played are from their debut album Ethyl Bobcat, coming out on April 5.

I first discovered &More while sifting through hundreds of Tiny Desk Contest video entries last year. Their standout video was for a song called "WHOA," which is also the third song they played during their visit to the Tiny Desk. It's a song that expresses exasperation at current events, when words just can't be found, and when all one can say is, "whoa!" But despite the intensity of the subject matter, much of what &More, Donn T and Chill Moody play stays positive. You can hear it in the refrain of the song: "The hate you give, won't stop and let you think; the love you save keeps you on the brink." The positivity is infectious.

Set List
"My Own Light"
"Future Come Around'"
"WHOA"

Musicians
&More (Chill Moody & Donn T): vocals; Marlon Lewis: drums; Ty Lemar: vocals; Norwood Long III: bass; Jake Morelli: guitar; Dan Rouse: keys

Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kimani Oletu, CJ Riculan, Kara Frame; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Production Assistant: Adelaide Sandstrom; Photo: Amr Alfiky/NPR

Aug. 24, 2018 | Stephen Thompson -- Dermot Kennedy took this assignment seriously. The Dublin singer-songwriter wasn't content with merely re-creating his songs as they sound in the studio, or stripping lavish productions down to simple acoustic arrangements. So he got himself a gospel choir.

More specifically, Kennedy and his band flew in from Ireland a day ahead of time to meet and rehearse with members of Washington, D.C.'s Howard Gospel Choir. Every arrangement was painstakingly plotted ahead of time, so that every note would be perfect.

Two of the songs Kennedy performs here ("Moments Passed" and "An Evening I Will Not Forget") pop up on an EP he released this year with hip-hop producer Mike Dean, and both sound radically different in this performance. They're still forceful — and still centered on the singer's elastic, bombastic voice — but also looser, warmer, more open.

Put simply, they sound like the work of a future star: a modest former busker (and current NPR Slingshot artist) with a voice built to fill stadiums in more ways than one.

Set List
"Moments Passed"
"An Evening I Will Not Forget"
"Glory"

Personnel
Dermot Kennedy (vocals, guitar); Kieran Jones (keyboards/effects); Jonny Coote (piano); Micheál Quinn (drums); Keila Mumphord, Taylor Nevels, Chamille Boyd, Jazmine Thomas (backing vocals)

Credits
Producers: Stephen Thompson, Bronson Arcuri, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Suraya Mohamed, Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, CJ Riculan, Khun Minn Ohn, Niki Walker; Production Assistant: Catherine Zhang; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.

"Does my sassiness upset you?" Watch Rapsody rap "Sassy," the song that has earned her a Best Rap Song nomination at the 2017 GRAMMY awards, at Turntable Lab in Manhattan.

On paper, Vince Staples headlining an NPR showcase doesn't make a lick of sense. He's a young, black rapper, with production that veers toward the dissonant and gritty, and aggressive, colorful lyrics that speak pointedly to the systemic issues that plague his hometown of Long Beach, Calif. But in action, Staples closing out a night that also featured soul, Chicano punk, indie rock and country made all the sense in the world.

The bulk of the material Staples performed came from last year's widely acclaimed Summertime '06 — an album that laid bare his experience growing up around gangbangers, drug dealers and addicts, fearful outsiders and corrupt cops. His silhouette the only thing visible, Staples launched into his set with the deceptively buoyant "Lift Me Up"; the audience immediately lifted with him, jumping at his command.

With charisma, comedy and a touch of cynicism peppered throughout, Staples played to his crowd without pandering — which, to be fair, has never been a part of his repertoire. (See: his Spotify showcase at SXSW.) The energy between Staples and audience was reciprocal, and only ticked up further as the night wore on. By the final two songs — the wildly charged "Senorita" and the jarring "Blue Suede" — there was full-out moshing, crowd surfing and stage crashing, much to the chagrin of security. Elbows were thrown and backs were shoved, but it was clear by the time Staples finished his performance, standing atop the rail directly in front of his adoring audience, that it was all a physical manifestation of unbridled, raw positivity. --KIANA FITZGERALD •

SET LIST
0:25 - Lift Me Up
4:35 - '65 Hunnid
5:54 - Fire
8:40 - Birds & Bees
10:10 - Dopeman
12:20 - Hang N' Bang
13:39 - CNB
17:31 - 3230
22:00 - Hands Up
25:56 - Jump Off The Roof
29:14 - Norf Norf
33:52 - Señorita
36:45 - Blue Suede

CREDITS
Producers: Saidah Blount, Mito Habe-Evans, Otis Hart; Technical Director: Josh Rogosin; Director: Mito Habe-Evans; Videographers: Nickolai Hammar, Katie Hayes Luke, Cameron Robert, A.J. Wilhelm, Lizzie Chen; Editor: Niki Walker; Audio: Timothy Powell/Metro Mobile; Assistant Audio Engineer: Loretta Rae; Production Assistants: Erin Conlon, Nathan Gaar; Special Thanks: SXSW, Stubb's BBQ; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann.

GameBreax' SWATS and Omega Sparx auditioning for tiny desk with their yet-to-be-released single, "World's Greatest"

www.GameBreaxMusic.com

To View The Whole Concert, Go To:
http://www.npr.org/event/music..../230520404/pusha-t-l

Pusha T's set was the culmination of a gradual separation from his brother, No Malice, with whom he performed as Clipse until three years ago. The Virginia native made his name as a writer of sharply observed scenes of the drug trade and a connoisseur of unsettling, emotionally raw production.

He was vulnerable up there on stage at Le Poisson Rouge, playing none of the hits he made as part of Clipse (the ones the crowd knew by heart), instead favoring his more recent work with Kanye West, and pulling from his solo mixtapes and debut album, My Name Is My Name. The songs are full frontal assaults dappled with graceful metaphors and harmonies that leave marks. Eyes wide, face open, Pusha doesn't shirk anything, rapping about dirt he's done, ugly facts, and praying. "I'm just talking to the world like it's you and I," he says during "Suicide."

He put the audience on his back, building trust and moving toward a moment between the first and second verses of his encore, "40 Acres." He shut his eyes, leaned on the mic stand and visibly gathered himself before hurling his meticulously drawn story out into the air, even though it hurt to say the words.--FRANNIE KELLEY


CREDITS
Producers: Mito Habe-Evans, Robin Hilton, Frannie Kelley, Amy Schriefer; Event Coordinator: Saidah Blount; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Alex di Suvero, Becky Harlan, A.J. Wilhelm; Special Thanks: (Le) Poisson Rouge; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann

They've made music together since they were young teens, coming together in Edinburgh from places as far apart as Ghana and Maryland. Young Fathers' hip-hop-infused poetry is intense; you can hear that on the group's new album, White Men Are Black Men Too.

Translating that intensity was a challenge for Young Fathers at the Tiny Desk. Full-on drums and electronics weren't going to happen on this day, so the group's members chose another path — a quieter, more contemplative path — and just two songs made the cut, spanning only four minutes. It's a brief but powerful introduction to their poetry and their possibilities. -- BOB BOILEN

Set List
"Am I Not Your Boy" 0:00
"Only Child" 2:05

Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Maggie Starbard; Audio Engineer: Brian Jarboe; Videographers: Morgan McCloy, Maggie Starbard; Assistant Producer: Nick Michael; photo Maggie Starbard/NPR