Erykah Badu: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Aug. 15, 2018 | Felix Contreras -- Some folks around the NPR Music office said they felt an almost spiritual connection to Erykah Badu during her visit to the Tiny Desk. And that was before she and her band even played a single note. It came from the waft of earthly scents that followed in her wake, to the flowing dreads and clothes that hung on her like robes.

After her self-introduction, which included a rundown of her spiritual and creative aliases, Badu rolled into one of her earliest musical calling cards, "Rimshot." It's an ode to the sound the percussionist makes when a drumstick is struck against the metal edge of the snare drum. On this performance, as on her 1997 album Baduizm, it becomes a device to play with time — stretching it, stopping it, suspending it. Propelled by jazz chords on the piano and the steady pulse of the acoustic bass, the playful performance unfolded in the tradition of the best bebop.

But the panoramic song "Green Eyes" is the centerpiece of Badu's Tiny Desk performance. It's wide-ranging in scope and musical arrangement and brilliantly executed by the jazz and hip-hop musicians in her backing band. The story of heartbreak is striking enough, but her interpretation showcases her formidable vocal skills. By the time it was over, we were all just as emotionally and spiritually spent as she was from the experience.

Erykah Badu is an artist for the ages. To old-school jazz fans like myself, names like Nina Simone, Betty Carter and Shirley Horn come to mind as much as Billie Holiday because of Badu's singular approach to a lyric. They all cut their own creative path and left behind a legacy that you can identify with just one note. Erykah Badu is on that same path, and one day her name will be mentioned along with the other Elders who share her spirit of musical adventure.

Set List
"Rimshot"
"Green Eyes"

Musicians
Erykah Badu (lead vocals), RC Williams (Keys), Braylon Lacy (bass), Cleon Edwards (Drums), Frank Moka (Percussion), Kenneth Whalum (Sax), Keyon Harrold (Trumpet), Dwayne Kerr (Flute)

Credits
Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Khun Minn Ohn, CJ Riculan; Production Assistants: Catherine Zhang, Téa Mottolese; Photo: Morgan Noelle Smith/NPR.

[nprmusic]

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[OMGitsAthina]

Tiny Desk is our era's MTV Unplugged

[ghostbit]

No matter how cool you are. You will never be as cool as Erykah Badu. Mic drop.

[oluwadaraakinbola]

"Silly me I thought your love was true, changed my name to silly E. Baduuu" I LOVE HER

[jdaps]

Her runs are like no other. She sings like she’s not even trying

[crystaliss]

She's like a beautiful, jazz fairy. Her music is magical.

[minisun]

I love that Erykah Badu only sounds like Erykah Badu.

[matteatane]

rimshot 1:25

green eyes
movement 1 (denial) 3:13
movement 2 (acceptance) 5:28
movement 3 (the relapse) 9:31

[edugarciamartinez]

Green eyes sounds better and has more feeling than the recorded version. Amazing

[mochamommyATX]

This woman changed my life.  quirky, hippie, lovely, and  conscious and edgy all the different energies that a black woman can possess

[LanaDelGuey]

Can someone please cast Erykah Badu as Mother Nature already?!?!

[chrystalcinnamon]

I listen to this set frequently. She’s amazing.

[allenedwards]

That's my brother on the drums!! Love it!!

[myc.o.]

Has anyone realized that in Green Eyes, Erykah wonderfully flows through the stages of grief?

[getinvolved]

The choice to perform GREEN EYES is a HUGE GIFT. This song is so DOPE. Many Tkx.

[jillnolan]

"Green Eyes" still hits hard after all these years. For all of us that have loved and lost. This was beautiful.

[k.johnson]

npr should be winning all kinds of awards for these concert series

[prettyawesomejm]

I’ve seen Erykah Badu live more than a few times. Her voice is clearer and stronger than it was 20 years ago. She really is a fairy godmother unicorn ethereal majestic fairy goddess.

[d-pink]

When you love music, you can only love Erykah Badu. She's a queen of soul (all generations). A truly amazing voice. ✨❤️

[georgeanthonypratt]

I come back to this performance often. Erykah is literally an embodied corpus of aesthetic knowledge and black music: funk, jazz, soul, blues, hip hop, etc (all of which emanate from the same form of sacred expression). The categories of creative, cultural worker, theorist, vocalist/musician, and storyteller converge at her art. She knows no bounds. Blessed be Queen Badu.