Latest news with #TinyDeskConcert
UPI
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Anohni and the Johnsons play Tiny Desk Concert
July 17 (UPI) -- NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series hosted Anohni and the Johnsons to play three of their songs. The British band opened their set for the intimate concert, which was released Thursday, with the song "Why Am I Alive Now?," from the 2023 album My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross. The band also played "Hopelessness," from the 2016 album of the same name, and "It Must Change" from My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross. Anohni recently wrapped up her European tour with a July 11 performance in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
UPI
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Bloc Party performs 'Banquet' at Tiny Desk concert
July 15 (UPI) -- British rockers Bloc Party performed their hit song "Banquet" during a new episode of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series released Tuesday. The song appears on their debut album, Silent Alarm, which dropped in 2005. Their set list also included "Signs" and "Mercury," which appear on their 2008 album Intimacy, and "Blue," from their 2023 EP, The High Life. Lead vocalist Kele Okereke played guitar alongside Russell Lissack. Harry Deacon and Louise Bartle provided background vocals, with Deacon on bass, keyboard and glockenspiel, and Bartle on drums. "This is a big deal for us, you know," Okereke said between songs. "NPR has introduced me to so much great music."
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Doechii's Glastonbury slot is all part of her five-year plan
In 2023, Doechii announced she was three years into her five-year plan for becoming one of the biggest names in music."By year five I want to be at my peak," she told Billboard magazine."I want to be in my Sasha Fierce era, the top of my game with still a long way to go - but I want to reach my prime and never leave it."Back then, it felt like a bold claim. The Florida-born rapper and singer had scored a couple of viral hits - most notably Persuasive, an ode to marijuana that ended up on Barack Obama's summer playlist - but nothing that had crossed over to the mainstream jump-cut to 2025 and Doechii is a Grammy Award-winning "woman of the year", who's about to play one of the most hotly-anticipated sets at Glastonbury hard to identify the turning point. Some people say it was her mesmerising performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last her hair carefully braided to her backing dancers, she delivered a meticulously-choreographed performance of Boiled Peanuts and Denial Is a River - a cartoonish character piece, in which she confides to her therapist that her boyfriend's been cheating on her with another man. Others pinpoint her Tiny Desk Concert, released on YouTube two days later. The 15-minute set bursts with joie de vivre, simultaneously soulful and fiery, as the star rattles through jazzy, full-band recreations of her mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal. She won even more fans at the Grammys in March, where she won best rap album, making her just the third female artist to win in the her speech, she spoke directly to young, black, queer women like her: "Don't allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, to tell you that you can't be here, that you're too dark or that you're not smart enough or that you're too dramatic or you're too loud."She capped off her win with an ultra-physical performance that referenced Michael Jackson, Missy Elliott and Bob Fosse - and ended with her pulling the splits while being held aloft by five male dancers. With three "star-is-born" performances in just four months, Doechii became the most talked-about new rapper of her generation... just like she planned. So where did it all start? Doechii was born Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon in Tampa, Florida and raised in a "heavily Christian" single-parent household by her mother, Celesia Moore.A studious kid who loved writing poetry, she invented her alter-ego at the age of 11, after being viciously bullied in school."I was in a position where I thought about killing myself because the bullying was so bad," she told Dazed magazine in February."Then I had this realisation: I'm not gonna do that, because then they're gonna all get a chance to live and I'm gonna be the one dead."Overnight, her attitude shifted."Jaylah might've been getting bullied, but I decided Doechii wouldn't stand for that," she recalled in an interview with Vulture. "And then," she told The Breakfast Club, "I went to school in a tutu and I started doing music." As a teenager, she spent four years at Tampa's Howard W. Blake School of the Arts, after winning a place on the choral programme by performing Etta James' At Last. The school unlocked her creativity, allowing her to take classes in everything from nail design and hair, to ballet, tap, cheerleading and stage production. However, it was gymnastics that left the biggest impression."The way that gymnasts train is really, really tough. It's brutal and hard and difficult," she told Gay Times. "But at some point in my gymnastic career I learnt how to embrace and really love pain. To view pain as me getting stronger and better. That caused a deep discipline that has never left me."The school also helped the teenager accept her sexuality."Even though I was aware [that I was queer], I didn't feel as comfortable until I started surrounding myself with more gay friends at my school. "Once I had gay friends it was like, 'OK, I can be myself, I'm good, I can feel safe, this is normal, I'm fine.' I have those same friends today and will have them for life."That's not all they gave her: Those same friends convinced Doechii to give up her ambitions of becoming a chorister, and start writing and releasing her own music. Initially called iamdoechii, she uploaded her first song to Soundcloud in 2016, and released her debut single Girls two years later. It already bore the hallmarks of her best work: Rhythmically and lyrically dextrous, and chock full of personality. "Taking nudes / None of them for you," she chided over a mellow electric piano, before the beat switched up and her rapping became more frenetic. By the closing bars, she barely had time catch breath as she listed her accomplishments. "Making money from my phone, huh / Doechii finally in her zone."The lines were more prophecy than reality. Doechii had a solid following on YouTube, but she was still working at Zara to make ends meet. In 2019, she was booked for a showcase in New York City and hopped on a bus - without the money for her return trip. "The night after, I slept at a McDonald's," she recalled in a 2022 interview. "And then I had to call one of my mom's friends... and, like, beg her to let me sleep at her house. And I ended up living there until I got back on my feet." 'Drowning in vices' Things started to turn around with the release of 2020's Yucky Blucky Fruitcake, named after Junie B. Jones's children's book, in which Doechii sketched out her own to the lyrics, she was precocious ("I try to act smart 'cause I want a lot of friends"), competitive ("I get a little violent when I play the game of tag") and frequently broke ("My momma used stamps 'cause she need a little help").The song marked a breakthrough in her writing."I was lacking this sense of vulnerability and honesty in my music," she told Billboard, until "I learned accuracy and just saying exactly what it is, like on Lucky Blucky Fruitcake".The song went viral, winning her a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment - the label that launched Kendrick Lamar and SZA. She followed it up with the effortlessly hooky Persuasive, earning praise from SZA (who jumped on a remix) and former President Barack Obama."I can't imagine Obama just jamming my song," she exclaimed. "I just don't believe it, but if he really does – that's crazy." Doechii next collaborated with Kodak Black on the 2023 single What It Is (Block Boy), earning her first Top 40 hit. Then, everything stalled. Subsequent singles flopped, and Doechii was, as she later wrote on social media, "drowning in my own vices, battling differences with my label and a creative numbness that broke me".Initially, her Alligator Bites Never Heal mixtape looked set to repeat the pattern. Released last August, it entered the US charts at number 117 and vanished a week reviews were ecstatic. Critics loved the acerbic, funny lyrics, that saw Doechii unpack the trials and tribulations of the last two years; and heaped praise on bars that recalled greats such as Q-Tip, Lauryn Hill and Slick Rick, while keeping pace with contemporaries like Kendrick Lamar. After a period dominated by the mumbled bars of Souncloud rap, her precision was a breath of fresh air."One of the year's most fully-realized breakout albums," wrote Rolling Stone. "If this is the sound of Doechii pushing against constraints, a little friction might not be the worst thing," added Pitchfork. As word spread, she was booked to play the Colbert show and Tiny Desk. Those performances lit a rocket under her career. By April, Alligator had chomped into the US Top 10, and the UK Top 40. Around the same time, she bowed to fan pressure by releasing her 2019 YouTube song, Anxiety, a pop-rap crossover based on a sample of Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know. With an eye-catching video that recreated a full-on panic attack, it hit number three in the UK, and even earned Doechii a citation in medical journal Psychology Today."The song and accompanying video work so well in showing exactly how anxiety feels in our bodies and minds," wrote Professor Sandra Chafouleas. "Think about quick and short breaths, racing thoughts, and worrying about things that haven't happened yet. Anxiety feels like 'Anxiety' sounds, with brilliant mirroring of how the experience can hijack us."Since then, Doechii's been hard at work on her debut album. There'd been rumours she'd release it in time for her Glastonbury slot on Saturday night, but perfectionists have got to perfect. At the time of writing, she's still in the to Dazed, she dropped a few hints of what's in store. "In Alligator Bites Never Heals, the archetype was a student of hip-hop. For this next project, I'm thinking about how this student develops. "Who does she develop into? What has she learned? I'm still unpacking how that character develops into this next project."Despite the delay, Doechii's headline set remains one of Glastonbury's biggest draws. She might only be performing for 45 minutes, but she'll make every one of them the star boasted on her single Nosebleeds: "Will she ever lose? Man, I guess we'll never know."
UPI
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Alex Isley performs 'Good & Plenty' at Tiny Desk concert
1 of 3 | Alex Isley arrives on the red carpet for BET Awards on June 9. NPR released her Tiny Desk Concert performance on Monday. Photo by Greg Grudt/UPI | License Photo June 23 (UPI) -- Alex Isley performed her hit "Good & Plenty" for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series in a new episode released Monday. She invited singer and musician Masego to join her on that song, which dropped in 2020. "I shot a Tiny Desk at home in 2020, so to be here in the office is just magical. I'm happy to be here, and celebrating the release of my new EP When, but also celebrating 10 years of my album Luxury," Isley said. When dropped April 18, and Isley performed "Mic On" and "Thank You for a Lovely Time" from the EP. She performed "La Brea," from Luxury. Her set list also included "Into Orbit," "Love Again," "Mine," "About Him" and "Hands." Isley was joined by background vocalists Nelson Beato, Astyn Turr and Muhsinah, and DeShaun Allen on drums. Jay Rojas played guitar, with Dre Pinckney on bass and Darek Cobbs on the keyboard. Isley, 38, is the daughter of the Isley Brothers' Ernie Isley. NPR is spotlighting Black music artists in June's Tiny Desks for their Black Music Month.
IOL News
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Thandiswa Mazwai Tiny Desk Concert reaches 1 million views
Thandiswa Mazwai alongside a jazz quartet will be performing music from her albums "Belede" and "Sankofa" at The Lyric Theatre at Johannesburg's Gold Reef City. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers South African music legend Thandiswa Mazwai's episode on the National Public Radio (NPR) Tiny Desk Concert series has reached 1 million views. Affectionately known as 'King Tha,' she appeared on the popular YouTube show in April 2024. Her episode was listed among the '10 Best Tiny Desk Concerts of 2024'. Mazwai had delivered a spiritual and breathtaking Tiny Desk performance in Washington, D.C., performing her well-known and cherished hits such as 'Nizalwa Ngobani?' and 'Ingoma.' The episode reaching 1 million views comes ahead of her show at The Lyric Theatre at Johannesburg's Gold Reef City. Playing with a Jazz quartet, the icon will be performing music from her albums 'Belede' and 'Sankofa' on Sunday, June 29. Mazwai shared her excitement about performing the body of works. 'It is a special treat for our fans who always ask to see this music live. 'Belede' is of course, a very special album for me and we are also celebrating a year since the release of 'Sankofa'.' 'Belede' is Mazwai's third solo studio album, released in 2016, a collection of reinterpretations of legendary South African Jazz and protest anthems from the 1950s and 1960s. 'Sankofa' is Mazwai's fourth studio album and was released in May 2024. 'Sankofa' is a Ghanaian Twi word that means 'to go back and fetch what has been left behind'. The making of this record embodied that idea. Recorded in Johannesburg, Dakar, and New York, the album combines archival Xhosa samples (which were sourced from the International Library of African Music at Rhodes University), jazz and West African music. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Mazwai shared that 'Within those ancient rhythms and polyrhythms, a common lexicon revealed itself to me and I am excited to share this music with those who have been growing and evolving with me. 'It is about a celebration of the pan-African spirit, healing old wounds, and returning to what honours us." 'Belede' and 'Sankofa' have a strong jazz influence and Mazwai's show will put together a special lineup of musicians to celebrate some of the people who played and the influences that created the music. IOL Entertainment
