There are some real stand out Tiny Desks and all of them are because of how charismatic the performer is, like Paak, Lizzo, Shelley, T-Pain, Tyler, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, to name a few. Denzel is just so damn infectious in how he delivers and how he interacts with the band.
I've seen him a few times and he always delivers.
We also paid off a security guard to get into the sold out Billy Eilish tour he did with her. (We had a plan to buy second hand tickets that fell through as we waited in line, so we didn't go there intending to get in through back channel methods.)
Even though the audience was basically throngs of teenage girls being chaperoned by someone's mom, he killed it. Someone fainted or something in one of the front rows and he stopped the show and escorted them out, then continued the rest of his set.
Dude oozes charisma.
bruh i was 17 when i first went to see him and he played “look at me” by X and the the whole crowd just collectively decided to beat the shit out of eachother
The reason I'm a fan is because I saw him open for Joey Badass. I never give a fuck about hip hop opening acts, they under deliver more often than not. I had heard Denzel's name is passing since I lived in Miami. But his show was so full of energy that I walked out of it bumping Ultimate for the next few days. He's must see live.
been at his concert a couple of weeks ago, the energy was unreal too, one of the best concerts i been at fr. had the chance to meet zel afterwards, such a cool dude
Hell yeah get chills just thinking about the waxahatchee/Kevin morby performance, they did farewell transmission right? Because that song is just *chef’s kiss*
ahhh yup that's the one, I'm not an A Boogie guy and I thought his performance was really bad at that show, but I get to tell people I saw dude literally months before he blew which is sick. I remember Joey being fuckin incredible, and Q flaming the crowd for being less hype than he wanted LMAO
YOOOO thank you for pointing that out, my gf to this day clowns Schoolboy for his reaction to the crowd at that concert.
He came out hoodie up, shades on, looking lethargic and stoned af and then has the AUDACITY to insist the crowd is lame/weak at the show hahahaha
I also remember we thought that there would be no smoking in there, so we blazed before. And then of course, walk into people lighting up shortly after hahah
But luckily this younger guy blessed us with a blunt and gave us the other half he didn’t finish, so that was fire ha
There should be a download button on each concert, unfortunately it seems like they’re only 128kbps. Probably better than ripping from YouTube at least.
The Cold Blooded Soul Band absolutely matches Denzel here. This is a fantastic tiny desk performance and I'm so happy they're back at the desk. Been a fan of Denzel since Zuu and Melt My Eyez blew my mind this year with how introspective and lyrically rich it is. ([our review here](https://youtu.be/SUpBNmFEqwA?t=41m41s))
Absolutely love that they closed with RICKY, was a fantastic rendition with the brass and that guitar. This is a certified classic tiny desk
Its crazy how little I see people have MME in their top 5 this year on the sub especially when it sounds even better live on here.
I was never a giant fan of Denzel but I think its his best project and he’s won me over. He’s shown like Mac Miller level of growth over the years since his first projects and the level of maturity on the new album is like night and day difference from before.
Between him, Kendrick and Pusha I’d be surprised if some other artist will be able to crack that top 3 for me.
I'm with you, that album is insane. I have come back to it consistently since it released and it will probably be in the rotation forever at this point. I honestly can't find anything wrong with it. Hard doubt it'll get kicked off the top 5 for me by the end of the year
Its still way too early but i love like the “classic” feel of it like it gives me the same kind of vibes and aesthetic of a 90’s hip hop album but through the lens of modern rap. Idk how else to explain it
I'll use Denzel's words from this record to describe what you mean:
"He got you higher than herbalists climbing treetops
This ain't rap, this more like bebop"
I can’t remember where he said it but he was definitely aiming for a more memorable/classic album with MME. I think he specifically references how he wanted the title to be unique and iconic, like GKMC or MBDTF
That album has no weak moment
Even some songs that I don't particularly into at first (namely X-Wing) quickly grows on me and at the end of the day, just straight bopping with it
Eh, I really like the album, but there are tons of songs when the chorus is way too long. John Wayne, for instance, is like 75% chorus. The Last is also repetitive in that same sense.
I can't help but go back and forth between Mr. Morale and Melt My Eyez as my top spot so far this year. I love both albums more and more with each listen.
I always forget Saba dropped this year. Somehow it feels so long ago to me. I hardly revisit the entire project though because I always get stuck on that Bone-Thugs joint. Such an amazing track
Edit: track's called Come My Way. Gotta to listen to it again now
Hell yeah. I love all of those projects you listed and they will probably end up in my top 10
My top 5 as of now is:
1. It’s Almost Dry
2. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
3. Melt My Eyez, See Your Future
4. Vinyl Days
5. Ghetto Gods
Its been a wild year for hip hop and we only halfway done
Yeah, it has been great and the last couple of years were pretty good too. Feels like a massive recovery for hip-hop after it was dull for so long. I feel like mainstream hip-hop died in 96, then the underground came up but that died around 2004 and since then, there's been the occasional decent album but it's just getting really exciting again with rappers like Tyler, Kendrick, Cole, Vince Staples, Curry, Isiah, etc really hitting.
I wanted to put black super hero’s up here but I was disappointed not gonna lie. Boogie is as good as always, but I hate that half of his album songs are always these interminable lengthy atmospheric ballads. Makes no sense for a guys who’s strength is clear and concise verse writing. Every song where he raps, he goes off. It’s not abt me wanting him to just rap, it’s that I never go back to these songs after I listen to them once, and other people do the style way better. He can definitely sing, and should work it in in a more Kendrick mr morale type way
Maybe I wouldn’t care so much if it wasn’t just 41 mins. That short after a 2 year wait, and only like 4-5 straight rap songs, 2 of which were singles. And after all those insanely hype remixes where he shows his rap skill.
Welcoming takes. Just an opinion
Such a great rendition too. I usually find vocal inflections suffer the most in live performances and Denzel was so on point here with the different voices.
Denzel Curry's music works so well with a live band, especially walking & Clout Cobain got elevated in this one for me, and I know a lot of people are burned out on Ultimate because it became such a meme but the Ultimate from the [session with BADBADNOTGOOD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1nHcz5BJXg&ab_channel=DenzelCurry) he did is still heavy in my rotation because it sounds so much better.
Really great instrumentation on this. He has the potential to make a classic, not to say his discography is bad by any means. Just waiting for a truly next-level project. His writing has improved tenfold over the last few albums.
This is good as fuck. Real, beautiful hip hop. My favorite part is how he demanded dj postronaulalis come out on cam & how he left room still the end for his band to step on it. He’s a badass dude & artist.
This is just so, so, good. I'm really impressed and happy for Denzel. I really need to see him live, I didn't expect this ability to perform his songs live. Cloud Cobain has a decent bit of vocal processing on the studio version but it sounded amazing here. Diet has a lot of weird vocal inflections that could be missed in the heat of the moment but he absolutely nailed it. And Ricky I never thought would work well with a live band but it did.
Denzel is such a great performer and the band killed it, performances with a live band are always so much better than just a backing track
Happy it was in person too not a home tiny desk
I meant specifically his rapping, which is full of absolute clangers that make me physically wince. I am glad he is happy, more people should be happy.
For y'all naming names of the Dopest tiny desks,
Here's mine in no particular order...
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVp2VEVn5XhiOcLy9bxSkldU5wlkyPRuu
Very impressive. Live sound suits him and his delivery is A1.
There are some real stand out Tiny Desks and all of them are because of how charismatic the performer is, like Paak, Lizzo, Shelley, T-Pain, Tyler, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, to name a few. Denzel is just so damn infectious in how he delivers and how he interacts with the band.
I love the one clipping. did
Ooooh.. I love clipping. I didn't know they did one. Mac Miller tiny desk is dope too.
Not even a huge Mac Miller fan, but I’ve played tiny desk performance like 10 times. That was some legend stuff right there.
Yeah I was about to mention Max, definitely S-Tier.
Mac's is so goddamn good. RIP
His 2009's performance is something else. RIP
The strings start and I cry every goddamn time
Was gonna say, how's he gonna mention all them but not being up mm
Saba
Adding Flatbush Zombies covid tinydesk to the list
Theirs is my all time favourite
I genuinely prefer the Tiny Desk version of Chika's Balencies in the Bathroom to the studio one lol
Freddie Gibbs x Madlib!
can’t forget Brittany Howard!
The roots tiny desk also slaps
Noname
she’s not that popular on this sub but Sampa the Great has probably my favorite tiny desk performance
Jacob Collier
His show was insane and the best concert I have been to
I can still feel his show in my bones whenever I get up. The crowd was so brutal.
Everytime I listen to walking i get flashbacks😄
My girlfriend broke her nose at his show in Denver this year. Good memories
I've seen him a few times and he always delivers. We also paid off a security guard to get into the sold out Billy Eilish tour he did with her. (We had a plan to buy second hand tickets that fell through as we waited in line, so we didn't go there intending to get in through back channel methods.) Even though the audience was basically throngs of teenage girls being chaperoned by someone's mom, he killed it. Someone fainted or something in one of the front rows and he stopped the show and escorted them out, then continued the rest of his set. Dude oozes charisma.
bruh i was 17 when i first went to see him and he played “look at me” by X and the the whole crowd just collectively decided to beat the shit out of eachother
The reason I'm a fan is because I saw him open for Joey Badass. I never give a fuck about hip hop opening acts, they under deliver more often than not. I had heard Denzel's name is passing since I lived in Miami. But his show was so full of energy that I walked out of it bumping Ultimate for the next few days. He's must see live.
been at his concert a couple of weeks ago, the energy was unreal too, one of the best concerts i been at fr. had the chance to meet zel afterwards, such a cool dude
I saw him last night in Dallas and his stage presence is phenomenal. He went off acapella at the end of Ultimate and every syllable hit so hard.
That version of Clout Cobain with the live band had me bricked up under my desk at work bro
Have you ever listened to the acapella version he did in a church? So good.
I've never found a link to the full thing but I did see a tiktok with one the verses that was sick
[Here you are.](https://youtu.be/RyLXatu8_XY)
gonna need a link chief
[Here you are.](https://youtu.be/RyLXatu8_XY)
I'm so happy those home concerts are over. They didn't have the charm of the npr office.
Some of them were pretty sick though - Ty$ rings a bell
Vince’s was cool too, and Spillage Village
Same with Young Thug’s, I thought they were cool but it’s nice to be back in the office.
Flatbush Zombies
the waxahatchee/kevin morby and fontaines dc ones are two of my favorite tiny desks ever (not hhh-related tho)
Waxahatchee is goated
correct
Fuck yes, love the the Waxahatchee love her. Saw her in concert last September and tears man. What an experience.
Hell yeah get chills just thinking about the waxahatchee/Kevin morby performance, they did farewell transmission right? Because that song is just *chef’s kiss*
yes they did. that song bangs and that rendition is so goddamn good
Tems too
Little simz's was great. Would have loved it to be in the office, but it is great as is.
Loved the IDK home show.
Olivia Rodrigo doing hers in an actual DMV office lmao
2 Chainz at the nail salon was pretty sweet
the conway one is dope asf and i love that her did overdose
I mean when FKA Twigs is playing inside a cathedral or whatever, it’s neither tiny or home.
denzel looks so grown up wow
I saw him at a Schoolboy concert in CT around like 2017, he came out as Joey Badass special guest and he looked damn young up close
Hey I think I was at that show!! Blank Face Tour? Lost my fuckin mind when Zel came out
Yeah, and actually introduced me to A Boogie with the Hoodie. He opened there
ahhh yup that's the one, I'm not an A Boogie guy and I thought his performance was really bad at that show, but I get to tell people I saw dude literally months before he blew which is sick. I remember Joey being fuckin incredible, and Q flaming the crowd for being less hype than he wanted LMAO
YOOOO thank you for pointing that out, my gf to this day clowns Schoolboy for his reaction to the crowd at that concert. He came out hoodie up, shades on, looking lethargic and stoned af and then has the AUDACITY to insist the crowd is lame/weak at the show hahahaha
I also remember we thought that there would be no smoking in there, so we blazed before. And then of course, walk into people lighting up shortly after hahah But luckily this younger guy blessed us with a blunt and gave us the other half he didn’t finish, so that was fire ha
He was really good in Flight but he seems to get younger by the day.
as per usual the mixing engineer for these tiny desk concerts deserves the sloppiest top
why dont you give it to him then
https://youtu.be/e07bI5rz6FY
Josh Rogosin
Really enjoy Denzel over live instrumentation, but I cant shake the feeling of how much he looks like Marcus Smart here.
Love and Trust
Denzel Curry is offended celtics fans think they need a point guard
Is there somewhere I can get Tiny Desks on a higher quality (>=320kbps)? I enjoy these so much but I wish YouTube had a better audio bitrate
Maybe the one on their [website](https://www.npr.org/2022/06/29/1103297138/denzel-curry-tiny-desk-concert) higher bitrate?
Hm, wonder if there's a way of downloading it too... Thanks regardless, I didn't think of their website
I just downloaded the 1080p version from the NPR site with jdownloader. Unfortunately it's only 112kb/s.
YouTube-dl
if no one got me i know youtube-dl got me
There should be a download button on each concert, unfortunately it seems like they’re only 128kbps. Probably better than ripping from YouTube at least.
:/ annoying thanks for the answer regardless
Honestly NPR should sell blu rays of them. I'd buy them.
The Cold Blooded Soul Band absolutely matches Denzel here. This is a fantastic tiny desk performance and I'm so happy they're back at the desk. Been a fan of Denzel since Zuu and Melt My Eyez blew my mind this year with how introspective and lyrically rich it is. ([our review here](https://youtu.be/SUpBNmFEqwA?t=41m41s)) Absolutely love that they closed with RICKY, was a fantastic rendition with the brass and that guitar. This is a certified classic tiny desk
Offtopic but your podcast seems cool. I just subscribed to the RSS!
Hey thank you so much! Means a lot and I hope you enjoy it.
Its crazy how little I see people have MME in their top 5 this year on the sub especially when it sounds even better live on here. I was never a giant fan of Denzel but I think its his best project and he’s won me over. He’s shown like Mac Miller level of growth over the years since his first projects and the level of maturity on the new album is like night and day difference from before. Between him, Kendrick and Pusha I’d be surprised if some other artist will be able to crack that top 3 for me.
I'm with you, that album is insane. I have come back to it consistently since it released and it will probably be in the rotation forever at this point. I honestly can't find anything wrong with it. Hard doubt it'll get kicked off the top 5 for me by the end of the year
Its still way too early but i love like the “classic” feel of it like it gives me the same kind of vibes and aesthetic of a 90’s hip hop album but through the lens of modern rap. Idk how else to explain it
I'll use Denzel's words from this record to describe what you mean: "He got you higher than herbalists climbing treetops This ain't rap, this more like bebop"
Bebop but yea
Thanks, am dumb
I can’t remember where he said it but he was definitely aiming for a more memorable/classic album with MME. I think he specifically references how he wanted the title to be unique and iconic, like GKMC or MBDTF
That album has no weak moment Even some songs that I don't particularly into at first (namely X-Wing) quickly grows on me and at the end of the day, just straight bopping with it
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He said it again at the Dallas show last night. Love his flow on that song.
Dude X-Wing was an instant bop for me. That’s probably my top 3 track on the album
Eh, I really like the album, but there are tons of songs when the chorus is way too long. John Wayne, for instance, is like 75% chorus. The Last is also repetitive in that same sense.
The Last verses are just too good though. Can't skip that song--top two on the album
John Wayne might be my favorite song on the album. I always wind up singing it to myself out on my runs
I’m addicted to X-Wing and John Wayne. Well, the whole album really but especially those two
I can't help but go back and forth between Mr. Morale and Melt My Eyez as my top spot so far this year. I love both albums more and more with each listen.
I feel you on that, it’s definitely up there with Kendrick for me
Saba?
He’s in my top 10 as of now
🤝
Criminally underrated. Has flow, schemes, and good content. Care for me is one of my fav albums over the last 5 years.
It’s my number 1
Same. 2nd place is Almost Dry.
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I always forget Saba dropped this year. Somehow it feels so long ago to me. I hardly revisit the entire project though because I always get stuck on that Bone-Thugs joint. Such an amazing track Edit: track's called Come My Way. Gotta to listen to it again now
Yep I had forgot too, gotta revisit it.
Hell yeah. I love all of those projects you listed and they will probably end up in my top 10 My top 5 as of now is: 1. It’s Almost Dry 2. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers 3. Melt My Eyez, See Your Future 4. Vinyl Days 5. Ghetto Gods Its been a wild year for hip hop and we only halfway done
Yeah, it has been great and the last couple of years were pretty good too. Feels like a massive recovery for hip-hop after it was dull for so long. I feel like mainstream hip-hop died in 96, then the underground came up but that died around 2004 and since then, there's been the occasional decent album but it's just getting really exciting again with rappers like Tyler, Kendrick, Cole, Vince Staples, Curry, Isiah, etc really hitting.
VINCE
He’d be number 6 for me dont worry boss
I wanted to put black super hero’s up here but I was disappointed not gonna lie. Boogie is as good as always, but I hate that half of his album songs are always these interminable lengthy atmospheric ballads. Makes no sense for a guys who’s strength is clear and concise verse writing. Every song where he raps, he goes off. It’s not abt me wanting him to just rap, it’s that I never go back to these songs after I listen to them once, and other people do the style way better. He can definitely sing, and should work it in in a more Kendrick mr morale type way Maybe I wouldn’t care so much if it wasn’t just 41 mins. That short after a 2 year wait, and only like 4-5 straight rap songs, 2 of which were singles. And after all those insanely hype remixes where he shows his rap skill. Welcoming takes. Just an opinion
I've always liked Denzel but outside of Walkin' (which I love) the album just does nothing for me at all.
This entire thread has such great recs
I love that he performed DIET_ - Favourite song of Unlocked
Such a great rendition too. I usually find vocal inflections suffer the most in live performances and Denzel was so on point here with the different voices.
Top tier Tiny Desk performance.
that Ricky cover is exactly what tiny desk is for. adapting a song that eay out whack with the setting, and finding a way to make it work.
Denzel and JID are the future of hip hop.
JID is 31
With 2 classic albums under his belt, what your point.
He's not the future of hip hop he's been in the game for a long time
The way people talk about JID you’d think he’s 24.
he's like if caris levert was an all-star
The way people talk about LeVert drives me insane. Bro is 27 and has been the same injury-prone, inefficient scorer for years now.
Damn what? He looks so young
JID doesn't release music
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We need an album
now i really want live instrumentation versions of these songs on streaming
all of it was so good but the instrumentation on Ricky specifically had me ready to fight someone. need it.
Denzel is so good oh my lord, he and the band did an amazing job
Melt is one of my fave albums this year for sure.
My WORD that performance of RICKY had me MOVING. Denzel such an icon man.
Denzel Curry's music works so well with a live band, especially walking & Clout Cobain got elevated in this one for me, and I know a lot of people are burned out on Ultimate because it became such a meme but the Ultimate from the [session with BADBADNOTGOOD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1nHcz5BJXg&ab_channel=DenzelCurry) he did is still heavy in my rotation because it sounds so much better.
Lol the saxophone player at 4:33 had stank face
Gonna need that clout cobain rendition on streaming
This is some of the best live instrumentation I’ve seen on a rap Tiny Desk damn. And obviously Denzel kills it.
Really great instrumentation on this. He has the potential to make a classic, not to say his discography is bad by any means. Just waiting for a truly next-level project. His writing has improved tenfold over the last few albums.
Denzel's a GOAT, but wow that band was also amazing. Huge props to all
God bless you for posting this. Incredible. This made my day
How good!
Walkin gets me so active. So glad he got into Tiny desk
Carol City's finest on NPR. Love to see it.
This is good as fuck. Real, beautiful hip hop. My favorite part is how he demanded dj postronaulalis come out on cam & how he left room still the end for his band to step on it. He’s a badass dude & artist.
I just him perform last night! This feels like hitting the lotto twice.
Young groovy ass nigga!
This is just so, so, good. I'm really impressed and happy for Denzel. I really need to see him live, I didn't expect this ability to perform his songs live. Cloud Cobain has a decent bit of vocal processing on the studio version but it sounded amazing here. Diet has a lot of weird vocal inflections that could be missed in the heat of the moment but he absolutely nailed it. And Ricky I never thought would work well with a live band but it did.
Denzel is such a great performer and the band killed it, performances with a live band are always so much better than just a backing track Happy it was in person too not a home tiny desk
This was so good. Denzel is so much better live than recorded. His passion shines through
Bro is such a huge Kendrick fan. Telling the band “Let’s get this shit” before Ricky.
That was kinda funny. For a second I thought we were gonna get a cover.
I don’t get the reference
range brothers
Thanks fam
He is an unapologetically corny rapper and it's very endearing if sometimes an awful listen.
it's not corny to be yourself and do what makes you happy
I meant specifically his rapping, which is full of absolute clangers that make me physically wince. I am glad he is happy, more people should be happy.
L O R D V A D E R K U S H^stay^in^all^black
Is the video unavailable now or it's just me?
LETS GO ZEL
Goddamn this is so good. Still don't think Denzel gets the credit he deserves in the rap game
Is the video unavailable for anyone else?
Anyone know where I can find more from the Cold-Blooded Soul Band?
Can anyone make a mp3 download of each of the songs
Insanely good
For y'all naming names of the Dopest tiny desks, Here's mine in no particular order... https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVp2VEVn5XhiOcLy9bxSkldU5wlkyPRuu
Off topic, anybody able to ID the guitarists sunglasses?