De La Soul: Tiny Desk Concert

De La Soul: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Bobby Carter | March 3, 2026

The humor of De La Soul has always been one of its calling cards. When DJ Maseo tells the Tiny Desk crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, we're a new group called De La Soul," he means it as a joke. But, in so many ways, one of the most influential groups in hip-hop is new: the duties have been reassessed, the focus has shifted and the newness of The Plugs is laid plain here at the Tiny Desk.

De La Soul came to us to celebrate a few milestones: its latest album, Cabin in the Sky, and year three of the De La catalog back under the members' control. This Tiny Desk releases on March 3, which is known as De La Soul Day. It's all a bit bittersweet as David Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy the Dove, aka Plug Two) isn't here with Pos and Maseo. Dave passed away in 2023, just weeks before the group's music was finally made available on streaming platforms after a decades-long legal battle.

Throughout the planning process for this show, both remaining members were candid about what Dave would and wouldn't approve of creatively, but remained open to ideas to honor him. The result was a thoughtful balance of classics like "Stakes is High" and "Breakadawn" with highlights from Cabin in the Sky.

SET LIST

"YUHDONTSTOP"

"Will Be"

"Much More"

"Stakes is High"

"Sunny Storms"

"Different World"

"Breakadawn"

"Pony Ride"

"A Quick 16 for Mama"

"Me Myself and I"

MUSICIANS

Pos: vocals

Maseo: vocals, DJ

Daru Jones: drums, music director

Aaron Hardin: keys

Ephraim Dorsey: sax

Omari Forman: trumpet

Lelia-Michelle Walker: viola

Yummy Bingham: background vocals

Gina Loring: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

Producers: Bobby Carter, Joshua Bryant

Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant

Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell

Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Mitra I. Arthur, Alanté Serene

Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault

Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer

Photographer: Michael Zamora

Series Editor: Lars Gotrich

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Executive Director: Sonali Mehta

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#nprmusic #tinydesk #delasoul

Support for NPR Music comes from Moises. A platform created by musicians, for musicians and used by 70 million artists worldwide – to learn, create, and collaborate. Available for download.