AD
play_arrow

keyboard_arrow_right

Listeners:

Top listeners:

skip_previous skip_next
00:00 00:00
playlist_play chevron_left
volume_up
  • cover play_arrow

    HYFIN Connecting The Culture

  • play_arrow

    Rhythm Lab Radio Redefining the Urban Sound

  • play_arrow

    88Nine

  • play_arrow

    Discovering her past: Element uncovers her roots through African Ancestry DNA testing Tarik Moody

Music

WILLOW: Tiny Desk Concert

todayMay 1, 2024

Background
share close
AD
AD
WILLOW performs a Tiny Desk concert.
Credit: Photo: Zayrha Rodriguez

On a call ahead of her Tiny Desk taping, WILLOW told me that she “just wants to feel it and be in the vibe.” Many artists worry about having to tailor their music for the space, but if done right, a beautiful synergy can be achieved. With boundless energy and magnetic stage presence, the artist’s exceptional vocal range and musicality left the audience spellbound.

Despite being only 23 years old, the singer-songwriter and musician Willow Smith is a vet when it comes to this music thing. She’s been consistently making music and on a journey of sonic exploration since she was just 9 years old and is about to put out her sixth album, empathogen, in just a few days. Zach Tenorio on upright piano kicks off the show, cueing the first few bars of the jazz-infused, odd-meter vibes of “Symptom of Life” from the new album, later complimented by trippy Ebow effects courtesy of Liso Lee on guitar.

Then, a couple throwbacks: a stripped down arrangement of “Split” from the 2022 album and fan-favorite “Wait a Minute!” from her 2015 album ARDIPITHECUS, which undergoes some mind-blowing bass riffing from Mohini Dey. Dey continues with some severe stank-face on a world premiere of the funky, bass-heavy “Run!” from the upcoming album, locking in tastefully with The Pocket Queen on drums. Closing the set with “Big Feelings,” the band gets busy while WILLOW’s vocals soar, effortlessly teetering between emotive highs and lows, leaving us all wanting more.

SET LIST

  • “Symptom of Life”
  • “Split”
  • “Wait a Minute!”
  • “Run!”
  • “Big Feelings”

MUSICIANS

  • Willow Smith: vocals   
  • Liso Lee: guitar, vocals       
  • Zach Tenorio: keys         
  • Mohini Dey: bass            
  • Taylor “The Pocket Queen” Gordon: drums      

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producers: Ashley Pointer, Bobby Carter
  • Director/Editor: Maia Stern
  • Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
  • Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene
  • Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
  • Production Assistant: Elle Mannion
  • Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
  • Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills 
  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
  • Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
AD

Written by: NPR

Rate it

Who we are

HYFIN is a media movement from Radio Milwaukee.

Milwaukee’s only Urban Alternative radio station features the full spectrum of Black music beyond R&B and Hip-Hop plus Milwaukee music. HYFIN connects the culture with the latest Black culture news, podcasts and more. Listen to best hip hop & R&B, dance, Afrobeats and more!

Listen

Our radio is always online!
Listen now completely free!
AD
AD
AD
AD
0%

Get your tickets now for just $10 in advance or $15 at the door and join us at 220 East Pittsburgh on May 10th.