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Kenny Beats: Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 6 Streams • 4 years ago

Bobby Carter | February 13, 2023
“I know producers don’t always get to do stuff like this,” Kenny Beats said as he wrapped up his Tiny Desk concert. “I’m very lucky I get to do a lot of stuff people with my job title don’t get to do.” His keen sense of gratitude was palpable and radiated throughout the space. Before the music started, he rushed over to explore the shelves behind the Desk, then added some of his trinkets. He then insisted the music had to be perfect as his dad would be listening. Kenny’s debut solo album, LOUIE, dedicated to his father, takes us on a journey through often inexplicable emotions regarding our parents. Kenny enlisted familiar voices to convey the feelings, sparingly incorporating their vocals over soulful beats.

He invited some of those vocalists, along with top-tier musicians including Nick Movshon and Leon Michels, to play something tailor-made for the Tiny Desk. For “Still,” rapper JPEGMAFIA finishes his thought through bars that we don’t hear on the album. His rambunctious energy juxtaposed with the band’s laid-back melodies is a bizarre sight, but it just works. When Remi Wolf sings, her powerful voice naturally cuts above everything else, and she stole the show on “Last Words.” Newcomer Nami’s falsetto brightened all of the harmonies, and he stepped up to close out with “Rotten.”

Kenny Beats is one of the most sought after producers in music and is most certainly the go-to for marrying different genres. Producer-hosted albums are famously frowned upon in hip-hop due to their lack of direction, but LOUIE is clearly saying something. This Tiny Desk feels like a part of that statement.

SET LIST
“Still”
“Last Words”
“Rotten”

MUSICIANS
Kenny Beats: artist, drummer
Leon Michels: keys, saxophone
Nick Movshon: bass
Nick Lee: horns
Alexander Benjamin Goldblatt: guitar
Jacob Reske: effects, vocals
JPEGMAFIA: vocals
Nami: vocals
Remi Wolf: vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Director: Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Creative Producer: Bob Boilen
Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel
Editor: Sofia Seidel
Audio Assistant: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#kennybeats #nprmusic #tinydesk

Lady Wray: Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 6 Streams • 4 years ago

This year's Black History Month celebration at the Tiny Desk features a carefully crafted lineup spanning many genres, generations and walks of life. Each artist represents the best in their class and will be performing at the Tiny Desk for the first time.

Bobby Carter | February 1, 2023
This year's Black History Month celebration at the Tiny Desk features a carefully crafted lineup spanning many genres, generations and walks of life. Each artist represents the best in their class and will be performing at the Tiny Desk for the first time.

As Lady Wray and her band checked into NPR headquarters for their Tiny Desk concert, I overheard her talking about how the excitement to perform kept her up all night. Once upstairs, the band got situated for soundcheck, and as she shook off the nervousness, something happened behind the Desk I'd never heard before. The first note from her mouth was so piercing I thought my ears were deceiving me. It sounded like she was singing through a loudspeaker. Bob Boilen walked over with a puzzled look, and before I could get a word out, I affirmed that we had just heard Lady Wray's natural vocal cords. "And that's light," she said as the band moved on to the next song.

That powerful voice has sustained Nicole Wray's decades-long career. As a teenager, she caught the attention of fellow Virginia natives Missy Elliott and Timbaland, lending vocals to their projects and releasing a hit of her own. She went on to work with other A-listers ranging from Jay-Z to The Black Keys, until she linked up with singer Terri Walker and formed the duo Lady in 2012. The pair split following a brief stint but Wray carried on the band name, prepending it to her own, and began making the music she was born to do solo with Big Crown records.

For her Tiny Desk, Lady Wray brought the classic soul from her last two albums, Queen Alone and Piece of Me, including "Joy & Pain" and "Guilty." She closed with a rearranged and emotional version of "Melody," named after her daughter.

SET LIST
"Piece Of Me"
"Joy & Pain"
"Guilty"
"Melody"

MUSICIANS
Lady Wray: vocals
Lola Adanna: vocals
JT: keys, vocals
Eric Hagstrom: drums
Kevin Martin: guitar
Tony Martin: bass

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Directors: Sofia Seidel, Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Videographers: Sofia Seidel, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Maia Stern
Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Assistant: Jay Czys
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#ladywray #nprmusic #tinydesk

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