Live from NPR, it’s... Gucci Mane?
NPR Music’s Tiny Desk concert series is beloved for its intimate setting, giving viewers a window into exclusive and oftentimes deeply heartfelt performances by artists both major (Adele, Wilco) and rising (Chris Stapleton, Anderson .Paak).
Recorded at host Bob Boilen’s desk, the series proudly runs the gamut of genres, casting a wide net to spotlight cutting-edge or at least quality music.
Still, trap music, a streetwise subgenre of rap rooted in Southern hip-hop, isn’t exactly the most obvious choice for Tiny Desk. But sure enough, NPR welcomed rapper Gucci Mane for an exuberant performance recorded in October.
Dressed in sweats and sporting a big grin, Mane performed spare versions of his songs with longtime collaborator and producer Zaytoven.
With Zaytoven playing lush melodies on piano, notably missing from the performance was the bass, that big booming sound that drives people to blast this East Atlanta rapper’s music in clubs and from their cars. And while Gucci’s performance was charismatic, having to self-edit lyrics definitely cramped his style.
“They performed with the understanding that everyone in the room knew their songs — one from 2009 and two from this year — and knew that this performance would represent a surreal dip into a parallel universe where ingenuity is rewarded, snobbery is gone and love is real,” NPR’s Frannie Kelley noted in the description of the video, which was posted Monday morning.
“Gucci Mane agreed to this unlikely set as a gesture to those people — for remembering his work while he was away, and for cheering on his resurgence, his health, his charm and his singular nature.”
The three-song set — “First Day Out,” “Waybach” and “Last Time” — capped a momentous year for Mane. In May he emerged from prison sober after serving time for two counts of firearm possession. Since then, he’s released two albums, “Everybody Looking” and “Woptober,” with a third one (“The Return of Atlanta Santa”) expected on Dec. 16.
Click here to see other Tiny Desk concerts.
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