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Posts Tagged ‘NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert’

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series Presents: Koffee (Video)

Ayeeeeeee! Let the party happen! It’s a vibe, not a wave. That’s why your body (and soul) sway as you enjoy this performance straight from the Tiny Desk. If you are at a ‘tiny desk’ of your own right now, know that you will soon be free… as soon as you press play above!

Above all, what makes Koffee so refreshing is that she centers her music around faith, resilience and gratitude. She has a new perspective to add to the pantheon of mostly male reggae greats and it’s resonating with a new generation that’s just getting hip to the iconic sounds. As her Tiny Desk performance shows, Koffee makes the best of her surroundings, channeling the day’s buzzy energy into a balancing act of youthful heart and old-pro precision, proving why she has become one of the most invigorating voices in reggae.
– NPR Music

#UnHunh #Alright #YehKnow

@ojones1

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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

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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

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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

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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 😉

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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.

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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

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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

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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.)

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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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

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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.

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Tiny Desk Concert Feat. Big K.R.I.T. (Video)

Get some of this Soulful Southern Short Set from Big K.R.I.T. Not too shabby a spread laid out, with “Mixed Messages,” “Keep The Devil Off,” and “Bury Me In Gold” being offered to the gathering.

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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

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Don’t Walk! Run The Jewels… NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (Video)

Let the E&J and lyrics and booming beats FLOW! RTJ on NPR for an intimate, but no-less-energized [Tiny Desk] Concert with rhyme buddies El-P and Killer Mike. Okay, in case you don’t follow Run The Jewels… have any kids leave the F**KING room NOW! Liquor and lyrics laced with profanity and adult dopeness. Party time! Let’s GO!

Mina Tavakoli | February 6, 2017 — Like any good pair of twins, Run the Jewels have a freaky sort of unspoken fraternity. When El-P and Killer Mike strode in with their usual uniforms — Mike in a gold chain as thick as a garter snake, El in a fitted Yankees cap and pair of blue-mirrored sunglasses — the two didn’t have to do as much as nod to one another before upending three tracks from their latest LP, RTJ3, in strange and perfect symbiosis.

El-P (née El-Producto, née Jaime Meline) — rapper, producer, and all-around godfather of the backpacker scene of the late-90’s — and Killer Mike — known for guest features on tracks by Atlanta’s Dungeon Family in the early-aughts, solo work in the mid-to-late ’00s, and perhaps most widely for his very public support of Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign last year — have out-mused each other in a supergroup that somehow seems to get better, louder, and more pertinent since their start in 2013. They represent an ideal evolution of underground hip-hop to mainstream success, mixing a fundamentally activist animus with IMAX-level production without losing a speck of vital force.

On an unseasonably beautiful day in D.C., Run the Jewels was sweaty and sulfuric, ad-libbing with one another in an exchange so slick, easy, and conspiratorial, it felt like we were in on their shared language.

Run the Jewels 3 is available now!

– NPR Music

EL-P X KILLER MIKE – RUN THE JEWELS 3 (ALBUM)

@ojones1

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Common Does A Soulful ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ At The White House (Video)

The White House is often at the center of some controversy, more so nowadays. But there was a recent time when there was less ‘crazy’ – as Keith Olbermann might say (here) – coming from the White House …or, at least, a different type of ‘crazy.’ Even then, something like this probably would not have made headline news. But it was certainly worthy of being documented. And I am glad NPR did. And after you watch, bet money that you will be, too.

We’ve never done a Tiny Desk Concert that wasn’t behind my desk at NPR. But when the White House called and said they were putting on an event called South by South Lawn, a day-long festival filled with innovators and creators from the worlds of technology and art, including music, we jumped at the chance to get involved. We chose Common as the performer and the White House library as the space.

This Tiny Desk Concert was a convergence of art and soul, mixing politics with heart. Common’s choice of songs dealt with incarceration as the new slavery, imagined a time where women rule the world and honored the man he looked up to all his life, his father. For this occasion, Common put together a special six-piece band of close friends that includes the great Robert Glasper, with his eloquent and delicate touch, on keyboards and Derrick Hodge, whose music spans from Hip-Hop to folk and has made a big imprint on the world of jazz, on bass. Common also asked his longtime friend and collaborator Bilal to sing on two songs. The performance includes three brand new songs, along with one classic, “I Used To Love H.E.R.”

Bob Boilen

Yooooo! Brother Common and his crew rocked a [Tiny Desk] Concert at The White House. DOPE!

(Oh, and the girl on the flute is Elena Pinderhughes, who played flute on Future’s “Mask Off.” Hella cute! Especially in that form-fitting dress. Yes!)

@ojones1

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