Posts Tagged ‘National Public Radio’
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib (Video)
I like this whiskey in my cup. We not givin’ a f**k…
‘Skinny Suge’ and Madlib make their way to the studio for a Tiny Desk concert. And everything is right with the world. Actually, it went a little left, starting jazzy then lyrics went HARD. But that makes things even ‘righter’ (haha)!
This Freddie Gibbs and Madlib Tiny Desk performance was a year in the making, largely because Madlib insisted on playing with El Michels Affair, a vintage funk and soul band based out of New York. But it was worth the wait. When pianist Marco Benevento opened with a delicate, almost jazzy run, it created the perfect opening — and juxtaposition — for hard-hitting emcee, Gibbs to jump in and ride the hell out of that beat.
– NPR
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley (Video)
Those who know already know: Jr. Gong can go! Not leaning on the Marley name or legacy, rather he is upholding it! Watch a small sample of his doing so above.
Watch Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley play “Slave Mill,” “So a Child May Follow” and “Speak Life” at the Tiny Desk.
– NPR Music
– @ojones1
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Ty Dolla $ign Paying Tribute To Mac Miller (Video)
Mannnnn… RIP Mac Miller #Feels
Allow yourself to catch the vibe on this one, hold it in, feel it. Words of tribute at the top. Silky R&B through to the end. Short and sweet. And dope.
(Bookended with another set of respect and RIP shouts. Nice.)
– @ojones1
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: H.E.R. (Video)
A whole lot less stand-offish and enigmatic for this Tiny Desk set, as she should be, H.E.R. treats the intimate gathering of souls to warm blend of R&B and Soul, peppered with moments of Hip-Hop adjacent styled delivery. Enjoy!
Cool shades. Cute singer 😉
Ernie Isley & Chuck D Speak On ‘Fight The Power’ (Video)
Wondering if each of the respective generations of listeners of these versions of “Fight The Power” knows about the other… Bet they do. Kind of cool even if they don’t, since NPR put this doc together #YouMustLearn
NPR’s American Anthem series brings together two songwriters — Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Chuck D of Public Enemy — whose respective versions of “Fight the Power” eyed the same struggle… Ridenhour would later take the stage name Chuck D, as the leader of the pioneering rap group Public Enemy. In 1989, he wrote his own “Fight the Power” for the film ‘Do the Right Thing.’ The movie is set on the hottest day of the summer in a Brooklyn neighborhood, where the temperature leads long-simmering racial tensions to boil over in the street.
– NPR Music
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Wu-Tang Clan (Video)
You know that thing you didn’t even realize you were waiting for? Well, here it is. Wu-Tang! WU-TAAAANG!! And their Tiny Desk Concert ain’t nothing to f**k wit’! Enjoy.
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Big Boi (Video)
Big Boi comes down from The Planet Of Stankonia to do a Tiny Desk Concert… ON IT!
The energy in the room was buoyant and vibrant from the moment they walked in the door. OutKast star Big Boi, Sleepy Brown of the prolific Atlanta production collective Organized Noize, and their eight-member backing band have been working together for 20-plus years, and their chemistry is instantaneous and undeniable.
– NPR Music
This the loudest I have ever heard a Tiny Desk Concert be. Dope!
– @ojones1
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Tuxedo (Video)
A Tuxedo Tiny Desk Concert? Best ticket you didn’t even have to purchase. Check it out!
When Tuxedo arrived at NPR and Mayer Hawthorne spied a small ‘Ho!’ button sitting on Bob Boilen’s desk, he immediately beamed. “We use a big ‘Ho!’ button on tour,” he said. They didn’t bring a drummer, opting for a boombox — yes, a real boombox playing a real cassette tape, kids — and it was nostalgic delight from the start of the cassette’s hiss. The band was tight as ever, while their ace in the hole, Gavin Turek provided dance moves and the sweetest harmonies. Tuxedo set things off with a fan favorite from their first album, along with two [more] before closing it out with a red light special. It’s one thing to go against the grain for the sake of it — and another completely make it good. In this Tiny Desk concert, Tuxedo accomplished both.
– NPR Music
– @ojones1
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Smif N Wessun (Video)
Not like they don’t belong on this forum. They do. Just did not expect to see them featured in their own Tiny Desk Concert. Very glad Smif-N-Wessun are though!
Brooklyn-bred Hip-Hop duo Smif-N-Wessun – consisting of partners in rhyme, Steele and Tek – illuminated the Tiny Desk with their signature, 80-proof poetry: straight, no chaser. Their music, inspired by their gritty and pre-gentrified Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville neighborhoods, offers the vocabulary of veterans who survived the grimy streets. These original members of the Duck Down Records group Boot Camp Clik represent quintessential ’90s true-school Hip-Hop from the bedrock, when Timberland boots were standard issue. Backing Steele and Tek for the first time is D.C.’s own Black Alley band.
– Abby O’Neill, NPR Music
(That “One Time” they wrapped with sounds extra nice.)
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Mac Miller (RIP) [Video]
One more time for Mac Miller man. RIP to the young emcee we will sorely miss. He did leave us with a dope Tiny Desk Concert. Small comfort, but good stuff nonetheless.
Aug. 6, 2018 | There was a shift in Mac Miller’s boisterous demeanor as he started the third of his three-song Tiny Desk set. It’s the first time he’s performed tracks from his new album, Swimming, in front of an audience. On “2009,” he rubbed his chin with clenched eyes, looking like a young man who’s beginning to crack the code. Backed by a piano loop and a string quartet, he reflected on his journey’s peaks and valleys…
– NPR Music
Got Thundercat in there, too. Nice!
– @ojones1
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Erykah Badu (Video)
Robert Glasper did mention Erykah Badu in that last scorcher interview he did. Fellow Texan. And she is well beyond worthy on ‘honorable mention.’ See her Tiny Desk Concert performance for a reminder if you need one; or even if you don’t!
Erykah Badu is an artist for the ages. To old-school jazz fans like myself, names like Nina Simone, Betty Carter and Shirley Horn come to mind as much as Billie Holiday because of Badu’s singular approach to a lyric. They all cut their own creative path and left behind a legacy that you can identify with just one note. Erykah Badu is on that same path, and one day her name will be mentioned along with the other Elders who share her spirit of musical adventure.
– Felix Contreras, NPR
T.I. Meets With Students From The Atlanta Music Project And Prepares For His NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (Video)
Has there ever been a behind-the-scenes type video put out for a Tiny Desk Concert? Well, there’s at least one now. Leave it to Tip Harris to do it big AND do it differently! Should be good.
T.I. rehearses for upcoming NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert performance at Crossover Studios with students from the Atlanta Music Project.
– DJ Blak Magic
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Rakim (Video)
That’s right. The G.O.D.M.C. Rakim Allah (and a full band) came through the intimate venue and gave a Tiny Desk Concert… to the world! And if you look close enough at the band, you might recognize some heavy hitters in there, too. Pure dopeness!
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Khalid (Video)
Can’t help but love the music. Can’t help but root for the singer. Well, here he is with an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Khalid is here (above), so wait no longer… click that play button and reward your soul with music from a young spirit.
Khalid’s music narrates life’s awkwardly necessary moments: the butterflies of young love, the angst of craving freedom, the apprehension of teetering on that next step in life. He creates honest, comforting pop for teens and young adults that speaks to the kid in all of us. Accompanied only by acoustic guitarist Jef Villaluna, the 20-year-old sensation captured this fleeting fearlessness of youth and brought it to the Tiny Desk for a heartfelt serenade session. The way his voice glided calmly over the guitar notes, switching between baritone and tenor, was fitting given that he sings about teenage peaks and pitfalls. Khalid’s sense of wide-eyed yet humble wonder permeates through the entire set.
– NPR Music
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: GoldLink (Video)
Just got that “Got Friends” joint from GoldLink posted and here he goes with the Tiny Desk Concert. Not mad. Actually saluting the grind mode of bro. Do you, sir.
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Jorja Smith (Video)
Jorja Smith brought her groovy voice and those ‘soothy’ eyes to the set. To an intimate set, for an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, just for you (you and you). Lucky you… thanks to us… you’re welcome!
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Daniel Caesar (Video)
Maaan! Good soulful music and performance to get you going, keep you going, or enjoy the day’s end when you’ve been going all day. Daniel Caesar and the band got you on NPR with the Tiny Desk Concert on this ep.
Daniel Caesar and his band had a clear vision for their Tiny Desk performance. While already confined to a small space, they opted to congregate at the piano, where producer and music director Matthew Burnett sat to create what feels like a fly-on-the-wall moment. We’re presented a purity that’s nearly impossible to capture on an album.
– NPR Music
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: GZA (Video)
Hold up. GZA did a Tiny Desk Concert, and you think there is even a slight chance that we don’t post it immediately if not sooner?? HA! When exactly did you forget what we were all about over here? The Wu emcee got it in with The Soul Rebels (outta New Orleans) and did dope business on the set! Watch up.
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: O.C. (Video)
Sure the warning says “explicit language” but NPR, could we please get “explicit DOPENESS” added to that warning? Because heads from the 90s already know and will appreciate, and cosign to the younger squires… and it’ll let the SUCKAZ know that “Time’s Up” for the wackness.
(Ha! See what I did there? Because that song is part of O.C.’s Tiny Desk Concert and… maaaaan, just click play!)
Big Daddy Kane Blesses NPR Music With A Mini Concert (Video)
Don’t know what’s wrong with your soul if this set from the Golden Era great doesn’t rock you. The B-I-G-D-A-D-D-Y-K-A-N-E in concert… a Tiny Desk Concert at that!
One of the greatest to ever bless the mic, Big Daddy Kane treated Tiny Desk to an office block party in the true essence of Hip-Hop. He performed a short set of classics, including “Smooth Operator,” “Ain’t No Half Steppin’,” “Raw” and a bonus freestyle. Through his warm, engaging and devilishly self-effacing style, the pioneer used an interlude between songs to address the intergenerational divisiveness defining rap today and the importance of fans of all ages supporting whatever they like, while “focusing on what’s positive and keeping that in the spotlight.”
– NPR Music
– @ojones1