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
MUSICIANS
TINY DESK TEAM
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
