Elle Mannion | September 3, 2025
Mustafa maintains hope in dark times. For this Tiny Desk, the Sudanese Canadian artist features material from Dunya, one of the best albums of 2024, plus “Stay Alive,” an earlier song of his that he says became “the thesis of everything that I believe in.”

A talented poet and songwriter, Mustafa has written for stars like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd — but as you see here, his artistry shines most when he sings heart-wrenchingly beautiful songs about his community. “I was born and raised in the largest housing project in North America,” he tells us. The depth of his emotions are palpable here: joy as he playfully interacts with a Sudanese choir assembled for this performance, pain as his soft voice pleads over oud, guitar and cello, and devotion as he sings about his faith. Dylan Wiggins, a producer for Dunya, helped with these Tiny Desk arrangements.

On the Desk, you'll see a variety of objects that celebrate his Sudanese heritage, but also a press vest — the kind used by journalists reporting in combat zones. In Toronto, the police would call into venues and recommend canceling Mustafa's early shows, citing "safety risks." That's when Mustafa began to contrast the white of his thawb with the bulletproof material of a press vest emblazoned with the word POET. “When I’m asking my boys to stay alive,” he says, “I’m asking that, when they return from a war, they don’t lose what makes them soft and they don’t lose what makes them tender. And that, to me, is a radical act.”

SET LIST
“Name of God”
“I'll Go Anywhere”
“Stay Alive”
“What Happened, Mohamed?”

MUSICIANS
Mustafa: vocals
Fletcher Milloy: guitar, background vocals
Yunus Iyriboz: oud, guitar
Wesley Hornpetrie: cello
SAFA: background vocals
Dua Kheiry: background vocals
Nadine El Roubi: background vocals
Batool Ibrahim: background vocals
Bousaina Ibrahim: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Elle Mannion
Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
Audio Mix: Maggie Luthar
Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Grace Raver
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #mustafa

Tiny Desk Giveaway. No purchase or donation required for entry. Void where restricted or prohibited by law. 18yrs or older. Deadline September 12, 2025, 11:59PM PT. ARV: $3,800. Links to the entry page and official rules can be found at NPR.org/TinyDeskGiveaway
Sponsors: NPR, Moises

Support for NPR Music and the 2025 Tiny Desk Giveaway comes from Moises. Powerful AI tools created by musicians, for musicians. Learn more at Moises.AI

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Felix Contreras | September 30, 2025
Adrian Quesada’s body of work reflects a restless creativity. The resume for the Austin, Texas-based musician, producer and composer includes Grupo Fantasma, Black Pumas, Brownout and any number of collaborations. He’s constantly looking for new sounds and voices.

So what does Quesada bring to the Tiny Desk? Four singers, four boleros. Angélica Garcia, Flor de Toloache’s Mireya Ramos, Trish Toledo and iLe each offer something distinct and personal to these songs originally found on two volumes of Quesada’s Boleros Psicodélicos.

Bolero, a Cuban song form that has not changed much over the centuries, has always been an opportunity for vocalists to inhabit the undeniable drama of the lyrics. Heartbreak is a big deal in boleros and it’s easy (and common) for vocalists to overdo the drama with overwrought vocal gymnastics. That is not the case here. Each vocalist has the discipline and artistic vision to insert just enough of themselves to leave an impression, but not overstate their case.

In the right hands, and voices, vocalists can bring back memories of pain and nostalgia — just hearing a deeply meaningful lyric belted out in just the right way can bring a grown man to tears. Not that this happened to me during these performances. I’m just saying.

SET LIST

“Ídolo (feat. Angélica Garcia)”
(written by Adrian Quesada, Angélica Garcia and Dan Ubick)

“Tus Tormentas (feat. Mireya Ramos)”
(written by Adrian Quesada, Mireya Ramos, Andres “Velcro” Ramos)

“Hoy Que Llueve (feat. Trish Toledo)”
(written by Roberto Cantoral García)

“Mentiras Con Cariño (feat. iLe)”
(written by Adrian Quesada and iLe)

MUSICIANS
Adrian Quesada: guitar
Angélica Garcia: vocals
Mireya Ramos: vocals, violin
Trish Toledo: vocals
iLe: vocals
Joshy Soul: keys
Ismael Cancel: congas, shakers
Terin Ector: bass
Jay Mumford: drums
Kiku Enomoto: violin
Andrew Griffin: viola
Allison Seidner: cello

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Felix Contreras
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
Audio Engineer: Jay Czys
Production Assistants: Dora Levite, Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Tiny Desk Team: Josh Newell, Ashley Pointer
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#tinydesk #nprmusic #adrianquesada

Support for NPR Music and El Tiny comes from Moises. Powerful AI tools created by musicians, for musicians. Learn more at Moises.AI

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Anamaria Sayre | October 10, 2025
Street sweeping by night in Mexico City and writing music when he could and where he could, Macario Martínez turned his longing into songs with beautiful lyrics and simple guitar picking. "¿Cómo es que me duele el no saber?" he sings on "Sueña Lindo, Corazón," the song that exploded on TikTok. How come the not knowing hurts so much? Martínez translates that feeling — wanting what you're not sure you can have — into music that matches the pulse of Mexico's beating heart.

Martínez arrives at the Tiny Desk on the release of his debut album, Si mañana ya no estoy. The structure of his music is soulful indie-pop, but the arrangements here evoke his home of Veracruz, Mexico, including instruments like jarana jarocha, steel drum and the percussive dance of tarima de zapateado. In these songs, he takes you to a place you love, you've lost or didn't even know you were a part of. In these songs, the longing that's defined Martínez's life will captivate the world.

SET LIST
"Sueña Lindo, Corazón"
"Estrellas"
"Enhierbado"
"Azul"

MUSICIANS
Macario Martínez: vocals, guitar, jarana jarocha, tarima de zapateado
Jaxho: jarana jarocha mosquito, quijada de burro, tarima de zapateado, steel drum, marimba, bombo
Perick Conde: bass, background vocals
Hombre Flores: piano
Ernesto Anaya: guitar, violin, percussion

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro
Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Dora Levite
Photographer: Grace Raver
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #macariomartinez

Support for NPR Music and El Tiny comes from Moises. Powerful AI tools created by musicians, for musicians. Learn more at Moises.AI

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