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Sting And Shaggy: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 5 Streams • 4 years ago

Watch Sting And Shaggy play "Englishman in New York", "Don't Make Me Wait" and "Shape of My Heart/Lucid Dreams" at the Tiny Desk.

Watch Tiny Desk Concerts ONE WEEK before they go on YouTube at https://www.npr.org/tinydesk

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July 10, 2019 | Josh Rogosin -- Sting and Shaggy might not be the most likely musical pairing. But one thing is certain, they love playing each other's music. On a bright autumn morning, the legends arrived at the NPR Music office bleary-eyed yet excited to play for the diverse staff of Shaggy and Sting fans. What surprised many of my NPR colleagues is just how well the collaboration works.

Their success as a duo shouldn't come as a total shock. After all, pulsing through many Police songs (Sting's famed band of the '70s and '80s) is a Reggae backbeat. It's impossible not to hear the influence in classics like "Walking On The Moon" and "So Lonely."

Shaggy (zoinks! - his nom de guerre comes from the Scooby-Doo cartoon character) was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He moved to New York when he was 18 and his music evokes only good vibes. The positive energy he brought to their opening song, "Englishman [and Jamaican] In New York," had everyone in the room grinning ear to ear, "early morning Reggae style," as he put it. After the tune, Sting announced "I never sang that song before 8 PM... Ever!"

Sting's familiar, raspy voice was accompanied by his battered 1957 Fender Precision bass he's plucked for over 25 years. His long-time guitarist and collaborator, Dominic Miller, strummed Reggae offbeats on acoustic guitar and co-wrote the hauntingly beautiful "Shape Of My Heart." That song is mashed-up with Juice Wrld's "Lucid Dream," sung by Gene Noble, offering a refreshing counter to Sting's nuanced melody.

Shaggy affectionately refers to his collaborator as "Stingy," putting his arm around him mid-performance. It's easy to see the comradery that being on the road together affords these veteran musicians, to say nothing of the breath of fresh air they bring to each other's music.

SET LIST
"Englishman in New York"
"Don't Make Me Wait"
"Shape of My Heart/Lucid Dreams"

MUSICIANS
Sting: vocals, bass, guitar; Shaggy: vocals; Dominic Miller: guitar; Gene Noble: vocals; Melissa Musique: vocals

CREDITS
Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Maia Stern, Beck Harlan; Editor: Kaylee Domzalski; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Photo: Cameron Pollack/NPR

Questlove Supreme Podcast | Organized Noize (Part 1) Hotney 4 Streams • 4 years ago

Watch the Questlove Supreme Podcast - https://bit.ly/QuestloveSupremeLive

Questlove Supreme travels to Atlanta to kick it with some of the city's musical architects. Organized Noize appears in a comprehensive two-parter. In Part 1, Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown discuss their approach to sampling, recall the early days of OutKast and the Dungeon Family, and have a few laughs about their formation. This conversation is not to be missed.

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Questlove Supreme Podcast - https://bit.ly/QuestloveSupremeLive
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Behind The Keys w/ James Poyser - https://bit.ly/BehindTheKeys
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Reconstruction w/ Stro Elliot - https://bit.ly/ReconstructionStro
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0:00 - Questlove Supreme rollcall
3:50 - Questlove's Organized Noize introduction
7:15 - Organized Noize's first musical memories. Sleep Brown discusses his father, Brick band member Jimmy Brown. Questlove and Sleepy also celebrate Brick's impact, including a piece of Prince history
16:55 - Organized Noize talks about the significance and impact of The Atlanta Child Murders, and the tragedy's impact on culture and creativity
24:30 - Atlanta's unique musical history
28:10 - Organized Noize talk about digging for records to sample
31:40 - How Organized Noize met
40:50 - Questlove offers a mini-history on Breakbeat Lou's Ultimate Breaks & Beats series, and the early days of sampling
45:00 - Questlove Supreme and Organized Noize celebrate late pioneering Hip-Hop musician and producer Larry Smith
48:00 - How Organized Noize dig in the crates and sample differently, as it applies to songs for OutKast, Goodie Mob, and the rest of Dungeon Family
54:00 - Organized Noize recalls Rico Wade's Dungeon studio, and laid out the process to making those incredible songs. There is a reason why Ray Murray is the yoda of Organized Noize
58:00 - Organized Noize reveals that En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)" began as a beat for Cool Breeze as they talk about samplers, technology, and approach to programming beats
1:03:00 - Organized Noize recalls their label housed at Interscope Records, and talk about making albums with Cool Breeze and Witchdoctor
1:10:00 - Questlove recalls the moment he came to properly appreciate OutKast and Organized Noize; the producers discuss the "Player's Ball" remix
1:13:20 - A discussion on why OutKast's "Elevators (Me & You)" defies logic as a bold single for ATLiens
1:18:00 - Organized Noize argues why OutKast's "So Fresh, So Clean" is not a sample. Sleepy Brown shows why
1:21:00 - Part 1 outro

#TheRoots

Summer Walker: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert Hotney 7 Streams • 4 years ago

Watch Summer Walker play"Session 32", "Wasted", "Girls Need Love", "Riot" and "Playing Games" at the Tiny Desk.

Watch Tiny Desk Concerts ONE WEEK before they go on YouTube at https://www.npr.org/tinydesk

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Oct. 21, 2019 | Rodney Carmichael -- Seconds before the cameras started to roll, Summer Walker showed just how much she was willing to sacrifice for her day at the Tiny Desk: She clipped her nails. It wasn't an aesthetic choice but a pragmatic one. Not even her love for a fresh set of bedazzled acrylics would get in the way of her strumming the soul out of her six-string Fender electric. The guitar wasn't the only thing she'd brought with her from Atlanta. In her lap sat "Friend," the pink stuffed animal who no doubt provided a bit of emotional support during a five-song set that forced the shy enigma out of her creative shell.

"Look, I'm really freaking excited to be here but I have social anxiety like a mother******," Walker told the NPR crowd at the end of her set, barely mumbling the expletive in an attempt to censor herself. "I'm freaked the hell out, I'm sweating, but this is so exciting for me."

A 23-year old singer-songwriter with an uncensored pen and brown-liquor vocals, Walker has become something of a patron saint for colored girls who've considered bossing up when heartbreak is too much. With the release of her official studio debut Over It, she made history last week by racking up the biggest streaming week of any female R&B artist ever. Meanwhile, the first lady of upstart label Love Renaissance (LVRN) is lowkey leading a sonic revolution in Atlanta that's turning the trap capital back into an R&B town. Her team was equally insistent on tricking out the Tiny Desk space by hanging lights that brought a diffuse glow to Walker's creative set.

For an artist who rarely grants interviews and admittedly dreads the public spotlight — despite an Instagram feed that clearly shows off her humorous, exhibitionist flair — Walker's Tiny Desk is revealing. In the span of 15 minutes, she performs fan favorites ("Session 32," "Wasted," "Riot") and the song that made Drake hop in her DMs, "Girls Need Love," before ending with current single "Playing Games." Even behind the bright lights and oversized eyeglass frames, her unadorned soul shines through.

SET LIST
"Session 32"
"Wasted"
"Girls Need Love"
"Riot"
"Playing Games"

MUSICIANS
Summer Walker: vocals, guitar; Elijah Whittingham: guitar; Angel White: vocals; Autumn Tuesdae: vocals; Slim.wav: keys; Stox: bass; Remey Williams: drums

CREDITS
Producers: Rodney Carmichael, Bobby Carter, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, Patrick Boyd; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Niki Walker, Maia Stern, Beck Harlan, Jack Corbett; Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey; Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann; Photo: Laura Beltran Villamizar/NPR

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