J Noa: Tiny Desk Concert

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

Anamaria Sayre | Septemeber 22, 2023
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

#nprmusic #tinydesk #jnoa