NPR Music’s Tiny Desk series has been providing performance gems for over a decade now. Since the platform sparked off its intimate performances at a desk inside the media organization in Washington, D.C., plenty of major league and minor league hip-hop faces have graced the stage or office corner in this case. Each generation of talent, from the Wu-Tang Clan to Roddy Ricch, have performed roughly 20-minute live shows that pull in the viewer as if there was a seat right in front of the artist.
For rappers who typically use heavy instrumentation and thorough musicality in their songs, playing with a live band can create a magical experience. For Anderson .Paak, having real instruments coat the backdrop for his soulful voice to belt over is an experience that’s far too familiar. So obviously, he bodied his 2016 Tiny Desk performance with The Free Nationals, playing tracks Come Down, Heart Don t Stand A Chance, Put Me Thru and Suede.