Cordae: Tiny Desk Concert

Cordae has called a few places home during his 27 years, but he’s always repped the DMV as an emcee. “This is a hometown show for me, so I’m expecting a biased amount of love from y’all!” Home-court advantage never hurts at the Tiny Desk, but Cordae had a few more tricks up his sleeve. He rolled in deep with a host of musicians and singers, some from the D.C. area and all rocking vintage graphic t-shirts featuring artists that have inspired the rapper. Cordae’s meticulous approach to music was evident, and the band was on point by the time soundcheck started.

Cordae has always shined as a masterful storyteller. On The Crossroads, he graduates from origin and neighborhood tales to the adjustment of newfound fame and fatherhood — most of this set comes from that album. But he does take us back to his early days on “06 dreamin,” a song about his mother’s aspirations as a singer that samples one of her original recordings. In a rare and sweet Tiny Desk moment, he shares his big break and brings his mom, Jennifer Dunston, up to sing with him.

SET LIST

• “Saturday Mornings”
• “06 dreamin”
• “C Carter”
• “Have Mercy”
• “Nothings Promised”
• “RNP”

MUSICIANS

• Cordae: vocals
• Jennifer Dunston: vocals
• Brendan “Rad” Mills: drums
• Sean “Smiles” Miles: keys
• Dean West Jr.: percussion
• Melmoth Chung: guitar, music director
• Budda Foster: bass
• Jared “MK Zulu” Bailey: trumpet
• Brent Birkhead: saxophone, flute
• Shavance Stephens: background vocals
• Lekan: background vocals
• Elyscia: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Bobby Carter
• Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
• Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
• Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Sofia Seidel, Grace Raver
• Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
• Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite
• Photographer: Michael Zamora
• Tiny Desk Team: Maia Stern, Lars Gotrich
• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
• Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
• VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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