Westside Boogie: Tiny Desk Concert

Westside Boogie: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Bobby Carter | December 14, 2022

Westside Boogie's obscure declaration before the final song of his set indicated his detailed knowledge of Tiny Desk concerts. "I gotta be the first person to bring kids to NPR, right? No, I'm not," he exclaims. "I gotta be the first one with kids in costumes, though." He's correct. American Football brought a children's choir to the Desk in 2019, so Boogie added flair to that idea for the climactic end to his show. The "superheroes" accompanying him for "Silent Ride" are local Washington D.C. children representing the future. The vulnerable and solemn nature of this Compton poet's music required minimal adjustment to fit into our space.

"Oh My," the song that reeled us back to 2015, was atypical of what he does naturally in the booth. He finds comfort in laying bare vivid images of his personal life, much of which delves into his relationship struggles yet beams with self-awareness and self-criticism. The title of his latest project, More Black Superheroes, is in part dedicated to two recurring themes in his music: his neighborhood and his son. For his Tiny Desk, he played songs from that album , including "NONCHALANT," featuring former Tiny Desk Contest contestant Mamii and other highlights from his catalog. After the performance, in a full circle moment, Boogie signed a poster from our 2015 SXSW showcase, which he was part of, telling us it was his first paid show.

SET LIST

"N*** Needs"

"Lolsmh"

"STUCK"

"NONCHALANT"

"Silent Ride"

MUSICIANS

Westside Boogie: vocals

Mamii: vocals

Slimwav: keys, musical director

Andre Brown: bass

Marlon Allen: guitar

Jordan Hemby: drums

Monroe Grant: choir

Kamiya Washington: choir

Kamille Washington: choir

Donell Jones: choir

Jace Price: choir

Jordan Perkins: choir

Jaxon Staley: choir

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Bobby Carter

Director: Maia Stern

Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin

Creative Director: Bob Boilen

Editor: Sofia Seidel

Videographers: Maia Stern, Beck Harlan, Sofia Seidel, Pierre Kattar

Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee

Production Assistants: Jill Britton, Alanté Serene

Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Ashley Pointer, Teresa Xie

VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#nprmusic #tinydesk #westsideboogie