ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
NPR Music received a record number of entries to this year's Tiny Desk Contest, 7,500. That is 7,500 independent artists from across the country with big dreams to play their very own Tiny Desk Concert. Now, the judges recently crowned Bay Area rapper Ruby Ibarra as the winner of this year's competition with her song, "Bakunawa."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BAKUNAWA")
RUBY IBARRA: (Rapping) I was born with two tongues, so I carry two guns. Sharper than a balisong blade in the sun. Stars and a sun 'cause the moon Phase 1. Got a rhythm like a monsoon, bagyo with the drum.
SHAPIRO: But they discovered so many other amazing entries, too. And now we're going to share some of those standouts here on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED this summer. NPR's Bobby Carter is with us now. He is host and series producer for the Tiny Desk, and he's going to share his favorite contest entries from independent R&B artists. Hey, Bobby. So good to have you here.
BOBBY CARTER, BYLINE: What's good, Ari? How are you, man? Good to talk to you.
SHAPIRO: I'm great. What do you want to start with?
CARTER: Oh, God. First, I just want to say, R&B shined at the contest this year. It was sprinkled throughout. But, like, the straight R&B was just so authentic. And there was just so many flavors of R&B this year. One of my favorites - probably my favorite - was by this woman from Boston named Tiril Jackson. The song is called "Truman." She has this deep, rich voice with so much character beyond her years, and sprinkled with a little bit of jazz, too. But I love, love, love, love this entry.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TRUMAN")
TIRIL JACKSON: (Singing) Were you ever going to tell me? Oh, I feel like that's a lie. While you're running, running carefree, was he ever on your mind? Did you notice when it happened?
SHAPIRO: That's a beautiful voice.
CARTER: It's just like, people are really delivering authentic R&B meshed with a little bit of this, a little bit of that. The songwriting is great. She's expressing, like, these overwhelming emotions of feeling disconnected or questioning everything around you, something that a lot of us can relate to. So nah, man, Tiril really, really, really killed this one.
SHAPIRO: I would love to see an intimate performance like that in a space as close and small as the Tiny Desk. Tell us about someone else who really stood out to you this year who was dipping into that R&B sound.
CARTER: Oh, let's take it to Maryland. This young woman by the name of Sadia. I'm a sucker for a three-part harmony. And this is the song called "Good."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOOD")
SADIA: (Singing) I hope your days are long, my friend. I fill my pages with your pen. See you tomorrow. Until then, until then I hope you're good, good, good, good.
CARTER: You know, it's amazing what you can do with three angelic voices.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
CARTER: And, like, a couple of pens.
SHAPIRO: Pens?
CARTER: Yeah. So basically, you have the three singers, Sadia and the two other singers. And then you have a gentleman. They're in a classroom, and the gentleman, he's playing the beat with two pens on a desk.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter) That's the percussion.
CARTER: Which leans into exactly what we love over here, right?
SHAPIRO: Cool. All right, let's go out on one more entry that you fell in love with.
CARTER: Oh, boy. We go from jazzy to folk to just straight soul in Vahn Black. And the song is called "Die Easy."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DIE EASY")
VAHN BLACK: (Singing) I can't stand to know you're bitter towards me. But I still wish you the best, truly.
SHAPIRO: Timeless.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DIE EASY")
BLACK: (Singing) Even though your words have caused me pain, I pray that life be kind and that the sun on your heart shines.
SHAPIRO: I could imagine, like, Billie Holiday or Etta James or Nina Simone singing this.
CARTER: Yeah. It's just soul, you know what I mean? What she does with her voice, going deep, going back up the range with just the guitar and that message, it just pierces your soul. This is something else.
SHAPIRO: And I know you've just barely skimmed the surface here, so where can people find some more of these great new artists?
CARTER: Yeah, you can watch all of these entries and more, plus get tickets to see some of the best Tiny Desk Contest artists live on tour, at npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
SHAPIRO: Bobby Carter is host and series producer for the Tiny Desk. It's always so good to talk to you. Thank you.
CARTER: Thank you, brother. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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