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J Noa: Tiny Desk Concert

By Anamaria Artemisa Sayre
Published September 22, 2023 at 5:00 AM EDT

This Latinx Heritage Month Tiny Desk is celebrating with an 'El Tiny' takeover, featuring a wide array of artists from all corners of Latinidad.

J Noa buzzes with power. Standing cara a cara with the 17-year-old Dominican rapper, it's clear that spinning life experiences into buttery smooth, striking bars is as natural for her as it is for most of us to take a breath.

This Tiny Desk concert was her first time ever leaving her barrio to perform, and yet she transmitted the confidence and charisma of an artist who invokes generations of fuerza into every word she breathes. Setting the tone with "No Me Puedan Parar," she brought captivating energy to the cool anthem. Switching to "Autodidacta," she backed her self-taught narrative with mind-blowing verbal sprints. Gliding through the jazz-backed "Paranoia" to story-driven "Betty," her delivery was so powerful that even the stories she told in between tracks felt like carefully placed poetry.

Desde el DR para romper el Tiny Desk. Don't get it twisted — J Noa came to the Tiny Desk to show the world what a girl from her barrio is capable of. Respira, romper — desde DR pa el mundo, the world isn't ready for her.

SET LIST

  • "No Me Pueden Parar"
  • "Autodidacta"
  • "Paranoia"
  • "Betty"

MUSICIANS

  • J Noa: lead vocals
  • Marcos Rijos: guitar
  • John Samnson (Jun Blaze): drums
  • Jason Mathews: keys
  • Andres Ferret: bass
  • Nathalie Rodriguez (Gaiya): background vocals
  • Carlos Colon: background vocals
  • Archie Knuckles: trumpet
  • Johnny Jones: alto Sax
  • Dominic Brogdon: trombone
  • Danny Flores (Danny Coast): musical director
  • Pedro Alegria: A&R Direction

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Anamaria Sayre 
  • Director: Joshua Bryant
  • Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault
  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen 
  • Series Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Zayrha Rodriguez, Michael Zamora
  • Editor: Maia Stern
  • Audio Assistant: Hannah Gluvna
  • Production Assistant: Catie Dull
  • Photographer: Estefania Mitre
  • Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Josh Rogosin, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
  • Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Anamaria Artemisa Sayre
Anamaria Artemisa Sayre is co-host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.

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