NPR Tiny Desk Concert

IDK Keeps Things ‘Simple’ In His At-Home Tiny Desk Concert Featuring Mike Dean

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One of the most fun elements of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts has always been the crowd interactions — something that has been missing ever since the series went to an at-home format as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, as restrictions have eased up and vaccination levels increase, it looks like we’ll start to receive something of a hybrid approach whenever it’s possible. IDK’s new Tiny Desk Concert brings back the live audience feel as he invites neighbors and friends to his Los Angeles home to perform new songs from his recently released album Simple.

Opening with the soulful “Puerto Rico,” IDK opts to set the mood with the smooth, melodic gem from USEE4YOURSELF rather than one of his harder-hitting rap tracks, which allows him to present himself as a “sweet guy” and adds to the overall inviting mood. Meanwhile, Kaytranada’s jazzy, house-influenced production from Simple proves to translate beautifully to the stripped-down set, where some synthesized baby grand sets the groove as IDK’s friend thumps out the beat on a coffee table. Mike Dean also makes an appearance to contribute a ripping guitar solo to IDK’s latest single, “Breathe.”

Watch IDK’s Tiny Desk Concert above.

IDK is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Cordae Celebrates His New Album’s Release With A Lighthearted Tiny Desk Concert

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Cordae’s new album, From A Bird’s Eye View, is out after an impressive rollout that included the singles “Gifted,” “Super,” and “Sinister,” a lively Tonight Show performance, and an eye-popping LA Leakers freestyle. Now, he puts the cherry on top with a mellow NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert covering both songs from the new album and some of the fan favorites that got him here in the first place.

Opening with “Coach Carter,” Cordae and his band smoothly transition from song to song, including a melodic performance of “Want From Me,” then his Lost Boy hit “RNP” and a loving medley of “Thousand Words/Thanksgiving.” He returns to the new project to close out the set with a three-piece sequence including the single “Sinister,” the nostalgic “Momma’s Hood,” and the vulnerable “Chronicles.” Throughout, he raps, sings, and speaks with an easygoing charisma that shows exactly why he was able to secure two Grammy nominations for his first album and such an enthusiastic fanbase that eagerly awaited his second.

Their patience was rewarded with a number of fun collaborations, which include “Today” with Gunna and “Parables” with Eminem. Stevie Wonder also appeared on the tracklist, with Cordae spilling a funny story about the musical icon to The Breakfast Club.

Watch Cordae’s Tiny Desk Concert above.

Tems’ Gorgeous Tiny Desk Concert Takes Over A Glamorous Ballroom

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Tems is having a stellar year. The Nigerian R&B-afrobeats singer-songwriter broke out in early 2021 as a result of her feature on fellow Nigerian artist Wizkid’s fan-favorite single “Essence,” which catapulted her into the US spotlight and sent listeners scrambling back to her September 2020 EP For Broken Ears. Since then, she’s released another EP, If Orange Was a Place, featured on Drake’s new album Certified Lover Boy, and embarked on her first-ever US tour, which is helping to show her breakout was no fluke.

Now, as if to put the exclamation point on the above-mentioned accomplishments, she offers her take on the star-making NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. The Tiny Desk (Home) Concert format allows her to spread out, as she and her band perform in an elegantly-appointed ballroom. With a setlist consisting of “Found,” “Free Mind,” “Looku Looku,” “Replay,” and the standout “Damages,” Tems establishes herself as a performer of uncommon talent, managing to be as captivating sitting on a stool as any number of much more animated artists.

Tems’ rise to stardom now has her performing on late-night television shows and videos like “Crazy Tings” racking up millions of plays, making it clear that there are even greater heights in store.

Watch Tems’ Tiny Desk Concert above.

J Balvin Performs His Scenic Tiny Desk Concert From New York’s East River

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While NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts have switched to an “at-home” format over the course of the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the guests have branched out, stretching the concept to incorporate diners, nail salons, and rental spaces to perform their fan-favorite hits. Reggaeton star J Balvin takes it a step further in his scenic Tiny Desk Concert, performing his set from at atop a barge floating on New York’s East River, with the Brooklyn Bridge hanging over the gorgeous backdrop.

The set, which opens with “Vestido” and closes with his latest hit “In Da Getto,” also includes emphatic performances of “Que Locura,” “OTRO FILI,” and “F40,” all of which appear on his newly released album, Jose, released September 10 via Universal Latin.

In addition to releasing his new album and performing on Tiny Desk, J Balvin’s busy 2021 has included a performance at Governor’s Ball, a feature on “Nirvana” from Skepta’s new EP All In, a remix of Eladio Carrion’s “Tata” featuring Bobby Shmurda and Daddy Yankee, and an appearance on Metallica’s covers album, turning the band’s “Wherever I Roam” into a reggaeton anthem. Balvin also teamed up with UPS to support Latinx small businesses.

Watch J Balvin’s Tiny Desk Concert performance above.

Rico Nasty Rocks Out With An All-Girl Band In Her Fiery Tiny Desk Concert

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Rico Nasty is on a roll lately, dropping the singles “Magic” and “Buss” over the course of the summer and sharing colorful videos for each song in the past few weeks. Today, she incorporated “Magic” and songs from her debut album Nightmare Vacation into a stripped-down set for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, including standout “OHFR?,” as well as her breakout hit, “Smack A Bitch.”

Rico sports one of her signature mullet wigs for the performance, which opens with a relaxed, groovy rendition of “Magic” that offers something a little different from her usual performance style. However, once that’s out of the way, she quickly gets back to rocking out along with her all-girl band (who wear coordinating bright red outfits), launching into a punk-style delivery of “Rage,” “OHFR?,” and “Trust Issues.” The band really brings the harder edges of Rico’s music to the fore, complementing her raspy vocal delivery. Rap-rock hasn’t always worked in the past, but Rico’s an expert at convincingly blending genres, and her band really amplifies the “rock” part while she sticks the shout-raps that tie the whole thing together.

Watch Rico Nasty’s Tiny Desk Concert above.

Rico Nasty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Little Simz Delves Into Afropop In A Cozy Tiny Desk Concert

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With NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series still working from home, for the time being, the show’s latest guest, Little Simz, takes the theme a bit literally, turning her performance space into a replica of a cozy family living room complete with bookcases, plush leather couches, and even a far-out, retro throw rug to make the space pop. Alongside her band, she performs songs from her upcoming album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, including the premiere of “Point And Kill,” an Afropop-leaning jam featuring Obongjayar.

The Tiny Desk concert is the culmination of Little Simz’s months-long rollout for Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, which drops this Friday, September 3. Earlier this month, she made her US television debut on The Tonight Show to perform the standout single “Woman,” for which she’d previously released an elegant music video. Another track, “I Love You, I Hate You,” finds her penning an open letter to her father about her conflicted feelings toward him, while “Introvert” kicked everything off back in April.

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is Simz’s first album since 2019’s Grey Area, although she did release the EP Drop 6 to break up the monotony of quarantine boredom last year. Now that live entertainment has returned, you can catch Simz this weekend at the End Of The Road festival in Dorset, England.

Watch Little Simz perform her cozy NPR Tiny Desk Concert above.

Migos Defend Their ‘Greatest Band’ Status With An Exuberant Tiny Desk Concert

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One of the few good things to come out of the 2020 pandemic forcing a near-shutdown of the entertainment industry was NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series moving to its “At Home” format, which opened up the concept and allowed more artists who wouldn’t have normally been able to perform due to travel and other commitments to turn in some of the best shows in the series’ history. For instance, Vince Staples and Young Thug both recently put in performances that highlighted new and upcoming releases with utterly magnetic charisma and arrangements.

Migos, the Atlanta-based trio who built their brand with exuberant performances over the past five years, is the latest example, appearing on the latest Tiny Desk Concert from what looks like one of the guys’ living rooms. Playing a three-song set from their new album Culture III including “Avalanche,” “Straightenin,” and “Happy Birthday,” Migos assert their claim for “greatest band in the world,” starting out on the couch and eventually filling the room with palpable, infectious energy.

In addition to a spate of videos for songs like “Roadrunner” and “Why Not,” Migos also have a three-day Las Vegas weekender planned for October to promote the album.

Watch Migos’ Tiny Desk Concert above.

Young Thug Debuts Songs From ‘Punk’ In A Hardcore Tiny Desk Concert With Travis Barker

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Young Thug is on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts: A sentence I never thought I’d write but that I am so glad I now can. But wait… there’s more! He plays his set with a very (ahem) punk influence, hinting toward the eventual release of his next full-length album, which he’s been teasing for some time. And listen, if you thought Young Thug rapping to punk instrumentals wouldn’t be awesome, I genuinely do not know what to tell you. It’s great.

With a setlist including both new songs (“Die Slow,” “Droppin Jewels,” “Hate The Game,” and “Tick Tock”) as well as his current fan-favorite “Ski” from the YSL compilation album that dropped earlier this year, Thugger’s Tiny Desk Concert is everything you could want from one of these or from a live Young Thug performance.

Oh yeah, and you know Travis Barker pulls up to play drums because what even is a punk-rap crossover without Travis Barker on it? Thug’s flow also seems… I don’t want to say “improved,” but it’s very polished and clear and that’s obviously on purpose as he slides into his next evolution with all the finesse suggested by those constant “slime” and snake references he makes.

Watch Young Thug’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert above.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Vince Staples Coasts Through A Laid-Back Tiny Desk Concert With Kenny Beats And Foushée

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Vince Staples may have received a polarized response from fans and critics, but Vince Staples himself remains undeterred in promoting his latest project, maintaining his usual cavalier air in a mellow NPR Tiny Desk Concert performance backed by Kenny Beats and featuring Foushée. The Long Beach rapper performs songs from his self-titled third studio album in the Hollywood Hills, where he jokes he’d “never live,” reminiscing with his manager Corey Smyth (who, as always, remains offscreen) about times he was arrested in the affluent area.

While some fans found the relaxed production on Vince Staples to be off-putting, it turns out to be perfect for a Tiny Desk performance. Vince, as laid-back as ever, coasts through album standouts “Law Of Averages,” “Sundown Town,” “The Shining,” and “Take Me Home,” with Foushée joining him on the last song and Kenny Beats playing bass throughout. Fellow South LA rapper 03 Greedo gets a shout-out, while Vince reflects on the release of his first album Summertime 06 and dedicates his performance to “all the bad b*tches worldwide… whether you have two legs or no legs.”

Watch Vince Staples’ Tiny Desk Concert above.

Vince Staples is out now on Blacksmyth Recordings/Motown Records. You can get it here

Fat Joe Praises Tina Turner, Terror Squad During Tiny Desk Concert

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NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert done the Don Joey Crack way looks a bit different from the other bespoke office concerts. With a camera trailing behind him, Fat Joe enters the premises where his Terror Squad is in ready position, spitting “I stand alone in this cold world” — the first verse from his 2001 origin story track, “My Lifestyle.”

“What’s good, Tiny Desk?” Joe said, flanked in a denim Louis Vuitton bucket hat, baby blue aviators, and a Barbie-pink leather jacket. Against a backdrop of designer sneakers encased in glass, the Bronx emcee ran through some of his biggest in his 30-year career, including his monumental Song of the 2002 Summer, “What’s Luv?” Vocalist Angelica Vila expertly handled the Ashanti parts and the salsa dancing parts, matching the Don in a long hot-pink blazer.

“Luv” ripped into the undulating “Lean Back” — where the tiny desk was, predictably, leaned on — and then Joe’s new single, “Sunshine (The Light).” The new track uses a Heaven-sent mashup by DJ Amorphous, of Rihanna’s 2016 song “Kiss It Better” and Luther Vandross’ 1981 song “Never Too Much.”

“I love you Luther,” Joe said, pausing for a reflective moment before performing his Terror Squad anthem, “All the Way Up.” Having released his first new single since 2019, the 50-year-old rapper contemplated the difficulty of staying both authentic and fresh in the music industry.

“I tell ’em all the time — that your darkest moments bring you the most clarity. It’s hard to start from nothing, make something of yourself, and have ’em rip it all away, start back from scratch … Who’s gonna come back, 40-years-old as a rapper? Well shit, Tina Turner did it at 48. Terror Squad means loyalty, trust, respect, and honor. Most of all, we never give up.”