Bobby Carter : NPR

Bobby Carter Bobby Carter is the host and series producer for NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.

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Bobby Carter

Tuesday May 30, 2017

New Zealand's Ladi6 Turns A Dancehall Groove Psychedelic On 'Royal Blue'

Ladi6's Royal Blue 3000 EP comes out June 2. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Songs We Love

New Zealand's Ladi6 Turns A Dancehall Groove Psychedelic On 'Royal Blue'

May 30, 2017 • Ladi6 takes everything that was great about '90s soul music and updates it, sprinkling cosmic effects and big synths throughout.

Friday May 26, 2017

Gabriel Garzón-Montano: Tiny Desk Concert

Gabriel Garzon-Montano performs a Tiny Desk Concert on May 3, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR) Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Tiny Desk

Gabriel Garzón-Montano: Tiny Desk Concert

May 26, 2017 • Gabriel Garzón-Montano spent three years writing and recording his beautiful, dense album Jardin -- but for his Tiny Desk visit, he stripped it all down to two elements, the piano and his voice.

Monday April 3, 2017

Noname performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Feb. 28, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR) Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Tiny Desk

Noname: Tiny Desk Concert

April 3, 2017 • The power of language to penetrate a difficult subject, and the power of performance to share that language, are the gifts Noname brought to the Tiny Desk.

Tuesday March 21, 2017

Sampha performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Feb. 7, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR) Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Tiny Desk

Sampha: Tiny Desk Concert

March 21, 2017 • A Tiny Desk Concert as intimate as it gets (that's saying something). Just Sampha, a piano and three heart-wrenching songs that seem to double as coping mechanisms.

Wednesday February 1, 2017

D.R.A.M. performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Jan. 4, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR) Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Tiny Desk

D.R.A.M.: Tiny Desk Concert

February 1, 2017 • The rapper/singer storms the NPR Music offices, activating his signature smile and bouncing through five highlights from his catalog — including the smash single "Broccoli."

Monday January 23, 2017

BADBADNOTGOOD performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Jan. 4, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR) Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Tiny Desk

BADBADNOTGOOD: Tiny Desk Concert

January 23, 2017 • The jazz band, known for its soulful interpretations of songs by Nas and Ol' Dirty Bastard, plays its own new material live in the NPR Music offices.

Saturday December 17, 2016

5 Essential R&B Albums You Slept On In 2016

SiR's album Seven Sundays deserved more love in 2016. Dana Washington/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Dana Washington/Courtesy of the artist

Best Music Of 2016

5 Essential R&B Albums You Slept On In 2016

December 17, 2016 • While you were watching Frank Ocean build a staircase, NPR Music contributors Bobby Carter and Kiana Fitzgerald were listening to these records.

5 Essential Hip-Hop Albums You Slept On In 2016

Saba's Bucket List Project should have been on more lists. Bryan Allen Lamb/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Bryan Allen Lamb/Courtesy of the artist

Best Music Of 2016

5 Essential Hip-Hop Albums You Slept On In 2016

December 17, 2016 • Chance the Rapper and A Tribe Called Quest received deserved accolades, but there were many more rap records worthy of celebration this year.

Monday December 5, 2016

Ro James performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Oct. 11, 2016. (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR) Raquel Zaldivar/NPR hide caption

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Raquel Zaldivar/NPR

Tiny Desk

Ro James: Tiny Desk Concert

December 5, 2016 • Bringing the heat to the NPR Music offices, the R&B singer performs three funky, sexy, stripped-down songs from his debut album, Eldorado.

Monday August 15, 2016

Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals: Tiny Desk Concert

Tiny Desk Concert with Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals. Cameron Robert/NPR hide caption

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Tiny Desk

Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals: Tiny Desk Concert

August 15, 2016 • Watch the invigorating, genre-busting bandleader, drummer, singer and rapper perform four songs — three from this year's Malibu, plus one surprising audience request.

Monday March 28, 2016

Tiny Desk Concert with Anthony Hamilton. Brandon Chew/NPR hide caption

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Tiny Desk

Anthony Hamilton: Tiny Desk Concert

March 28, 2016 • The soul star, his backup singers in The Hamiltones, and his band visit the NPR Music offices to perform "Amen," followed by three songs that have defined his career.

Wednesday January 27, 2016

KING's first full-length album, We Are KING, comes out Feb. 5. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen

Review: KING, 'We Are KING'

January 27, 2016 • The R&B trio, whose 2011 debut EP broke the Internet, finally follows it with an album of dreamy, idiosyncratic, self-produced soul music.

Friday January 15, 2016

Tiny Desk Concert with Benny Sings. Morgan Walker/NPR hide caption

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Morgan Walker/NPR

Tiny Desk

Benny Sings: Tiny Desk Concert

January 15, 2016 • The Dutch singer layers R&B, jazz and pop over hip-hop beats in his first-ever U.S. appearance.

Tuesday January 5, 2016

Tiny Desk Concert with Rapsody Jun Tsuboike/NPR hide caption

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Jun Tsuboike/NPR

Tiny Desk

Rapsody: Tiny Desk Concert

January 5, 2016 • In 2015, the young rapper had her big moment. This year, she's seizing it. Watch Rapsody perform three songs from Beauty And The Beast, recorded live at the NPR Music offices.

Wednesday December 23, 2015

Dornik quietly made one of the year's best R&B albums. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Best Music Of 2015

Top 10 Slept-On R&B Albums Of 2015

December 23, 2015 • There was plenty of R&B in 2015, from artists like The Weeknd in the mainstream to lauded up-and-comers like Kelela. Here are 10 worthwhile albums and EPs that may have slipped through the cracks.