Black Thought Presents Three New Songs On NPR's "Tiny Desk (Home) Concert"

(AllHipHop News) Industries across the country have had to initiate self-distancing practices because of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. NPR Music is doing the same with its renowned “Tiny Desk” series.

The latest edition of the stripped-down, intimate jam session features The Roots frontman Black Thought performing from a remote location. More “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert” videos are expected to be filmed from around the nation and the world.

“While our culture adjusts to the New Normal, artists are revealing the threads of our common humanity as they find new ways to bring their work to virtual communities, stated Abby O’Neill.

The senior manager of strategic initiatives for NPR Music and producer for Tiny Desk Concerts added, “In this installment of Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Hip Hop wordsmith Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought of The Roots crew, took the occasion to premiere three new songs.”

Black Thought’s 17-minute set featured the native Philadelphian debuting “Thought Vs. Everybody,” “Yellow,” and “Nature of the Beast” featuring Portugal. The Man. The Sean C-produced “Thought Vs. Everybody” and “Nature of the Beast” will appear on the forthcoming Streams of Thought Vol. 3 EP.

“Yellow” is from Trotter’s off-Broadway musical Black No More. The play is an adaption of George S. Schuyler’s 1931 satirical novel Black No More: Being an Account of the Strange and Wonderful Workings of Science in the Land of the Free, AD 1933-1940. The Harlem Renaissance-era publication is about an African-American scientist that invents a way to transform Black people into White people.

Black No More is currently scheduled to premiere in October 2020 at the Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City. Academy Award winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) penned the book. Black Thought created the score and will star in the production. Brandon Victor Dixon, Jennifer Damiano, Tamika Lawrence, and Theo Stockman are also attached to the cast.