The Houston-based rapper's mindful words are like a life hack for anyone seeking guidance, with pleas to look past inherent hardships and evil and to stay focused on life's ultimate prizes.

Watch a young cellist on the rise, offering music of virtuosity, sweet lyricism and a little fire from his Persian roots.

How does half•alive, known for funky earworms and synchronized dancing, translate to such a cozy space? Have the dancers sit.

Among Authors' music isn't casual; there are songs within these songs, and they're not always catchy. They'll take you on a journey worth following.

David Crosby, Becca Stevens, Michelle Willis and Michael League are The Lighthouse Band, and together they harmonized the heck out of the Tiny Desk.

Bas came to the Tiny Desk to get it, and — in a breathless four-song set — he did exactly that.

The Calle 13 veteran, fresh off her appearance at demonstrations in Puerto Rico, performs three songs that rage with revolutionary intensity.

The two bands just released Years to Burn, their first album together since 2005. Now, they've performed three songs — two new, one old — for Calexico's Tiny Desk debut.

Tamino possesses one of the most remarkable and memorable voices to ever grace the Tiny Desk.

Backed by a band assembled just for this occasion, the breakthrough pop icon performs three joyfully showy songs from Cuz I Love You.

The spirit of Cab Calloway lives on in Masego, the singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist who surprised NPR's Tiny Desk audience with a zany sense of showmanship.

As the NPR staff gathered to watch his performance, Jacob Collier sprinted full bore down the hallway for his set, hardly able to contain his creative energy or enthusiasm.

The punk-infused art band from Washington, D.C. brings a kinder, gentler and sparer version of the group's music to the Tiny Desk.

Every time she performs live, Erin Rae transforms her quiet storms into different hues of squalling introspection.

The two musical legends brought plenty of joy to the Tiny Desk, with an unexpected collaboration that works surprisingly well.

Miya Folick was raised a Buddhist in Santa Ana, Calif., and is of Ukrainian and Japanese descent. She sings of conviction, not fiction.

Who would've thought that American Football's fruitful reunion would not only include some of the emo band's best songs, but also a children's choir at the Tiny Desk?

The group from Ireland makes music that mixes the organic with the electronic, starting with a large, 34-string lever harp.

On Broadway, Be More Chill is a playful burst of frenetic energy and silly, stealthy sweetness. At the Tiny Desk, it holds onto that rowdy, generous spirit while stripping down the arrangements.

Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Elmo, Grover, Rosita, Count von Count, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and other surprise guests gather at NPR's headquarters to celebrate 50 years of love, learning and joy.

Betty Who brings Roséwave, sun's-out pop to the Tiny Desk with all the usual studio production stripped away.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard is widely regarded as one of the best gospel singers performing today. Her set at the Tiny Desk moved many at the NPR offices to tears.

Imogen Heap takes us through her many musical talents, from her Frou Frou musical partner, Guy Sigsworth — and their first new song in 17 years — to an extraordinary performance with musical gloves.

The British madmen brought fury, cathartic rage and deep thoughts to the Tiny Desk for one of the loudest, most raucous performances in memory.

Foxing is at the forefront of an emo revival, heavily influenced by late-'90s and early 2000s groups like Sunny Day Real Estate and American Football.

Tomberlin is the daughter of a Baptist pastor, grew up singing in the church and, since her teens, has questioned her own beliefs in God and faith. Her songs are delicate and vulnerable.

Quinn and his musical partner, guitarist and singer Nick Carpenter, arrived from the cool of Anchorage to the swelter of D.C. and performed with remarkable confidence and grace.

The group unites sounds from Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, with a dash of New York City thrown in.

Hailing from New Orleans with a love of sticky, bass-bumping funk, Lucky brought along a 10-person band, including a quartet of horns, to capture the full flavor of his debut album Painted.

There is no one making music like this 27-year-old, classically trained opera tenor and pianist. Watch and see why.

Watch members of the New York-based group give the world premiere video performances of two recent pieces by Radiohead guitarist and composer Jonny Greenwood.

Watch what happens when the smoky-voiced jazz singer from Mexico conspires with an adventuresome string quartet for songs steeped in Latin American traditions.

These classically trained artists fill the NPR Music offices with shrieking, rhythmic noise that redefines what an electric guitar can do.

This is probably the quietest you'll ever hear the first metal band to play the Tiny Desk.

Laraaji is best known to some for his ambient work with Brian Eno in the late '70s. He brings his meditative calm to the Tiny Desk in this hypnotic performance.

Toro y Moi loses the voice processing, synths and other heavy effects for a stripped-down acoustic set at the Tiny Desk.

Tiny Desk alums Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers surprised us all with their stunning collaboration this year as Better Oblivion Community Center. Together they radiate joy at the desk.

The Calidore String Quartet confirms that the centuries-old formula – two violins, a viola and a cello – is still very much alive and evolving.

The music of Theodore is dark and transformative, with the kind of spare elegance you can hear in Sigur Rós or Pink Floyd.

These three songs, from Clark's incendiary new album This Land, roar with the assurance and force of a showman at the top of his game.

Scottish singer, songwriter and essayist Karine Polwart seldom comes stateside, eschewing air travel to reduce her carbon footprint. But on a rare, recent visit, she stopped in D.C. for a Tiny Desk.

The R&B singer from Los Angeles is all about showing and spreading love.

It was a day when sunlight drenched the office and the songs of heart from Courtney Marie Andrews felt right at home.

Performing unplugged, the band forgoes its usual meticulousness in favor of a shaggy, entirely acoustic mix of new songs and '90s-era deep cuts.

The singer from Puerto Rico is part of a movement on the island that emphasizes largely acoustic instruments and a folk-based approach to interpreting life before and after the hurricane of 2017.

Philadelphia Rapper Chill Moody and singer Donn T, along with their crew known as &More, were one of the standout entrants in last year's Tiny Desk Contest. They bring a message of hope and love.

The veteran rocker and a backup band from Italy play songs from their album The Crossing, chronicling an American Dream of rock and roll and Beat poetry.

The U.K.-based singer-songwriter takes the Tiny Desk on a cosmic journey through her Saturn return.

Multi-hyphenate artist Kaia Kater uses the architecture of roots music, which she studied in West Virginia, to establish a simultaneous dialogue with both the present moment and her own past.

The artist came to the Tiny Desk masked up, as always, the better to catch a glimpse of her soul.

Myers replaces her album's roaring electric guitars and electronics with a pulsing string quartet, piano and brushed drums — and uncorks a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."

The Brooklynites stand out for their inventive and seamless blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop.

The Atlanta trap super-producer and son of a preacher man saved the day with a soulful Tiny Desk.

Decked out in matching, cobalt blue outfits, the singer and her band had a clear vision: If you want to overcome the times, find strength in numbers.

The Afro-Cuban percussionist mesmerizes with his almost otherworldly talent on congas.

Scott Mulvahill has been trying to win the Tiny Desk Contest for each of its four years. And while he's never won, we all loved him so much we had to invite him to play.

The voices of Amelia Meath, Molly Erin Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig come together behind the Tiny Desk, with songs that conjure a simpler life: dogs, friends, moonlight or skinny dipping.

There's a magical aura that surrounds Lau Noah as she sits behind the Tiny Desk and unspools thought-provoking story-songs.

Kurt Vile and his musical mate, Rob Laakso casually lose themselves in complex guitar lines that are effortlessly beautiful and lyrical.

Chan Marshall and her band perform a brisk and beautifully orchestrated medley of Cat Power songs: "Wanderer," "Woman" and 2006's "The Moon."

This Blood Orange Tiny Desk is a beautifully conceived concert showing off the craft and care that has made Devonté Hynes a groundbreaking producer and songwriter.

Watch the Australian singer-songwriter perform three new songs from her upcoming full-length debut, Beware of the Dogs.

The multi-instrumentalist says he only wishes he had more limbs; but Wood still manages to simultaneously play a bass guitar, keys and drums, all while singing into a wearable microphone.

Aaron Lee Tasjan arrived in an ascot and mustard-colored shirt, sporting red, round sunglasses and mutton chops. It was a fashionable nod to the psych-pop and rock sound he brought to the Tiny Desk.

Carolina Eyck, the first artist to bring a theremin to the Tiny Desk, plays the air with the kind of lyrical phrasing and "fingered" articulation that takes a special kind of virtuosity.

The preacher's son from Compton brought his flair for the dramatic, and an air of rebellion, to the Tiny Desk.

The saxophonist is a big thinker whose mesmerizing compositions chronicle the music of his native Puerto Rico with the help of an adventurous jazz quartet.

Cuban pianist Harold López-Nussa, along with his brother Ruy on drums and bassist Gaston Joya, deliver a set of danceable jazz explorations rooted in Afro-Cuban musical traditions to the Tiny Desk.

Amy Grant maps her fabulous, four-decade career with some of her coziest and heartfelt Christmas songs, not to mention a delightful version of "Jingle Bells."

The singer stuns in her second appearance at the Tiny Desk, showcasing not only her vocal mastery, but her skills as a captivating multi-instrumentalist.

The Clan celebrates its 25th anniversary with an old-school cipher at the Tiny Desk.

The band takes its quirks of production, rhythm and rhyme and brilliantly arranges them to work behind the Tiny Desk.

No one in the NPR offices could have imagined how remarkable this 15-year old pianist would be at the Tiny Desk.

The Innocence Mission, ever the most careful cultivators of quiet, encouraged us to come closer, to discover the "thing beautiful enough" in the moment it's delivered.

The Toronto-based R&B duo bathed the Tiny Desk in vibrant blue, purple and orange light to make it feel more like a concert hall.

Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers are all Tiny Desk alumae, but here they play together at NPR for the first time as boygenius, one of this year's best surprises.

The story of Bernie and the Believers is the story of Bernie Dalton's diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's disease and compassionate friends making his dream come true and his songs come to life.

The band's songs, stripped here to their essence, are particularly peaceful and calm — and sometimes chilling.

No matter how dark or disastrous, there's always been an undercurrent of grace to the music of David Bazan. He returns to his Pedro the Lion moniker for this memorable Tiny Desk performance.

After back-to-back performances in South Africa, Argentina, Chile and New York, Payton hit the Tiny Desk, where he dazzled the audience, simultaneously playing his trumpet and a Fender Rhodes.

Liniker e os Caramelows are from Brazil but steeped in the tradition of soul from here in the U.S. Watching this performance is to witness a spell being cast, note-by-note.

A single voice can send a powerful message - and that's just what Jim James did at the Tiny Desk, with just his voice and an acoustic guitar.

The charismatic singer and saxophonist brought a group of longtime friends to play a warm, thoughtful and chill set at the Tiny Desk.

The self-proclaimed "Funklordz" normally perform as a duo, but played with a live band for the first time at the Tiny Desk.

The Cuban pianist thrilled the NPR office with an intense performance that was as melodic as it was rhythmic.

"I'm sorry I'm shy," Florence Welch told the crowd of NPR family and friends gathered for her Tiny Desk performance. "If this was a big gig, I'd probably be climbing all over here and running around."

The pioneering Mexican band recreates the adventurous musical energy of their massive stadium shows behind Bob Boilen's desk.

The OutKast star performs "So Fresh, So Clean," "The Way You Move" and his solo single "All Night" with the help of singer Sleepy Brown and an eight-member backing band.

Henry and his band would have sounded right at home on Stax Records in the '70s — no small accomplishment. Watch them perform three funky, soulful jams.

Before embarking on a tour of Australia and Asia, the Chicago native brought the squad that helped make Care For Me one of 2018's best — along with a very special guest.

The jazz singer, who used to be into radical feminist punk, now composes and sings beautiful jazz ballads.

Watch the ambitious countertenor sing music that spans more than 250 years, connecting the dots between David Byrne, George Frideric Handel and Philip Glass.

Julie Byrne's transporting music can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Brooklyn-bred hip-hop duo Smif-N-Wessun – consisting of partners in rhyme, Steele and Tek – illuminated the Tiny Desk with their signature, 80-proof poetry: straight, no chaser.

This trio has become a reference point of their own for new school instrumentalists, a coveted achievement for any jazz group, though their appeal stretches far outside the jazz ecosystem.

While this Sacramento, Calif. band didn't win this year's Tiny Desk contest, their video entry, for the song "Peach Scones," was among the more memorable we've ever seen.

Jupiter Bokondji and his band Okwess play music that feels both African and American, with Jupiter's early musical tastes inspired by The Jackson 5, James Brown and the sounds of Motown.

The band makes life-affirming music that singer Kalmia Traver created over the past few years, filled with the triumph of being cancer free.

Watch the young Harvard grad dispatch some of the most "knuckle-busting" piano repertoire with uncommon panache and precision.

Two of Kansas City's finest — and indie hip-hop's trailblazers — deliver a dose of Strange Music.

In the fifteen years since he released Trap Muzik, Tip Harris has reinvented himself a thousand times over. But the stories he recounts from that era make his Tiny Desk a memorable one.

Backed for the first time ever by members of the Howard Gospel Choir, the Irish singer-songwriter shows off a voice built to fill stadiums in more ways than one.

The Australian band uses tiny moments of introspection to illuminate life's bewildering, terrifying, isolating aspects — especially as they apply to women.

Watch the 19-time Grammy winner return to his lifelong passion for J.S. Bach, playing music from the Cello Suites and offering advice on the art of incremental learning.

The singer's performance at the Tiny Desk was an almost spiritual experience, leaving many at the NPR Music offices in awe.

Even from its beginnings in late-60s Oakland, the band has always stood out. Fifty years later, its devotion to classic horn-driven soul remains unmatched, its passion and precision unchanged.

DAWN has a breathless enthusiasm for shape-shifting pop music. She strips three songs to just the essentials, illuminating the impeccable songwriting behind her wild combination of sounds.

Mac Miller reflects on his journey's peaks and valleys in a boisterous set of songs from Swimming, featuring special guest Thundercat on "What's the Use?"

One of our favorite new artists of 2018 visits the Tiny Desk.

Del McCoury has been performing, and updating, his take on bluegrass for some 60 years. At the Tiny Desk, he brought three traveling songs and some good yarns to share from his ample time on the road.

The precise serrations of Washington, D.C. band Flasher get softened for a visit to the Tiny Desk — their vocals, normally side-by-side rushing electric instruments, get the center stage treatment.

The veteran singer showcases her soaring powerfully expressive voice in a performance that bridges several generations of classic soul.

The storied vocal ensemble brings close harmony singing to a diverse set list that includes a Beatles tune and a bawdy madrigal from the 1500s.

The Icelandic composer is joined by two "ghost" pianists, making mysterious and memorable music at the Tiny Desk.

A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad and composer Adrian Younge brought their Luke Cage-inspired collaboration to the Tiny Desk.

Occasionally a new voice emerges so rich in experience that the only way to describe it is old soul.

Rev. Sekou and the Seal Breakers gave one of the most rousing Tiny Desks we've ever had, opening with one question: "Do you want to get free?"

Come for the jokes, stay for the French harmonica player who's toured with Stevie Wonder, Prince and Ed Sheeran.

New Orleans' native son brought his musical Gumbo — and a 10-piece orchestra — to the Tiny Desk for some well-seasoned soul and a lesson in creative freedom.

Join the "Children of the Sun" - or sit back and enjoy the spectacle - in this Tiny Desk experience.

The star sheds his band for a warm, winning, utterly game, happily overstuffed five-song performance of songs from across his long career.

Watch the New York rap icon perform "Paid In Full" and "Know The Ledge," as well as a new song for Marvel's Luke Cage, at the Tiny Desk.

A handful of teenagers, and a 12-year-old violinist, from the radio show From the Top, give sparkling performances, proving there's a bright future for classical music.

The bassist and drummer from D.C.'s pioneering punk band Fugazi join guitarist Anthony Pirog for a set of thrilling, sometimes loud and frenetic instrumentals.

Watch the 20-year-old star perform acoustic versions of "Location," "Saved" and "Young Dumb & Broke."

Come for one of Havana's most talented acts. Stay for García's incredible mohawk.

The D.C. rapper brought quite the crew to his Tiny Desk performance.

Watch the rising U.K. star perform intimate renditions of "Blue Lights," "On My Mind" and "Teenage Fantasy" with a full band.

The one-woman riot who made headlines during the inaugural Women's March On Washington visits the Tiny Desk.

The 14-year-old singer who signed to Columbia after winning America's Got Talent, dazzles the Tiny Desk with her breathtaking voice.

Watch the R&B star-in-the-making perform three songs, including a guest appearance by H.E.R.

This 22-year-old Brit has soul for days.

We squeezed 12 go-go musicians behind the Tiny Desk. Watch what ensued.

Watch the Chicago-based ensemble conjure otherworldly sounds from steel pipes, tuned cowbells and a bowl that sings.

The Los Angeles rapper and Kendrick Lamar collaborator performed four songs from her excellent album, Heirloom.

The Colombian pop star and Chilean rising star brought their duet tour to the Tiny Desk.

Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk and the cast of the Tony-nominated play The Band's Visit marked the first Broadway performance at the Tiny Desk.

The dream of the '90s is alive in this Canadian rock band.

This trio from Houston, Texas makes trance-inducing music heavily inspired by 1960s and '70s funk and soul from, of all places, Thailand.

The winner of this year's Tiny Desk Concert Contest makes his official debut performance behind the desk.

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn are two American musical treasures. This husband-and-wife banjo duo write original tunes steeped in the roots of folk music.

In three songs from Reservoir, Gordi keeps her voice both unadorned and centered within warm, cool arrangements that include piano, guitar, pedal steel, a harmonium named Barbara, and more.

Even if the world came to an end, there's still beauty and hope in all of us and in song. That about sums up the wistful mystery that is the music of Darlingside.

Most rap fans would name RZA as the head of the Wu-Tang Clan. But Wu purists know that GZA, or The Genius, is the crew's unspoken elder statesman.

Bedouine is Azniv Korkejian, a singer and guitarist who echoes sounds from the 1960's North American folk songwriters, but with vocal inflections closer to Leonard Cohen than to Joni Mitchell.

ÌFÉ isn't playing anything new. In fact, the band takes on something quite old: ritual Afro-Caribbean music that takes a lifetime to absorb and master.

The multinational band of theatrically fun and talented musicians in Superorganism mix melody and mischievous with almost Seussian folly.

Hear a triumphant fusion of jazz, rock and blues that moves with momentum and fresh anticipation. Logan Richardson plays with a lyrical intensity that is both focused and free.

When you hear John Moreland's sweet voice, it's hard to believe he spent years singing in punk, metal-core and hardcore bands. He plays acoustic guitar now, but his songs are still full of passion.

The veteran Brooklyn rapper was an underground star during hip-hop's golden era. At the Tiny Desk, O.C. made it clear that he hasn't lost his edge.

The Breeders' dreamy scuzz sounds more wizened and frazzled at the Tiny Desk, featuring the same lineup behind the band's breakout, 1993 album Last Splash.

The Uruguayan singer-songwriter is one of the finest lyricists operating today. Watch his stunning performance behind the Tiny Desk.

Tyler Childers writes songs about hard lives and hard love with direct heart and a soulful Kentucky drawl.

Flamenco, jazz and classical share the stage in this Tiny Desk from one of our favorite Spanish composers.

See the band perform a rare evening Tiny Desk concert, illuminated by flickering lights

The guitarist and singer for The Black Keys and The Arcs brings his Easy Eye Sound Revue to the Tiny Desk, recalling a time and sound from the '60s when southern R&B, including Nashville, was a force.

Bridgewater connects with her roots, her birthplace and the town she's loved all her life, with a set of songs from Memphis.

The Juice Crew legend brought his biggest hit, "Born To Roll," and a heartfelt recollection of his personal journey to the Tiny Desk.

Aoife O'Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins are bound by a love for bluegrass, chamber music, jazz, storytelling and singing.

Sometimes frenetic, sometimes slow and luxurious, the grooves the band creates are the perfect cushion for Jenny Ball's impassioned singing and engaging stage presence.

The Swedish trio brought a 30-string sonic blast to the Tiny Desk, performing on 12-string guitar, vioala and the nyckelharpa (a fiddle with keys — think 15th century keytar).

Cornelius' Keigo Oyamada deconstructs and reassembles music like it's a neon cubist-pop sculpture. On a rare U.S. tour, the Japanese band brought its complex cool to the Tiny Desk.

Raul Midón brought nothing but a guitar and his voice to an extended Tiny Desk set of dense, breathtaking jazz and soul textures.

For more than 45 years, the legendary John Prine has written some of the most powerful lyrics in the American music canon. He brings some of his best to this unforgettable Tiny Desk performance.

Each year we get thousands of submissions for our annual Tiny Desk contest. Seattle's Kuinka was one of last year's entrants. While they didn't win, we loved them so much we invited them to come play.

Clare's songs ask listeners to probe their own emotions through the lens of life's bigger pictures. His visit to Bob Boilen's desk is the perfect setting to bask in the power of his voice.

The Mississippi rapper paid homage to his grandmother and performed songs from his new album 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time.

Out of nearly 700 performances at the Tiny Desk over the past decade, this one by British composer Anna Meredith is one of the most exhilarating.

Watch the 77-year-old jazz-funk icon perform "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" (and more) at the Tiny Desk.

The Nashville star brought some good old country music stories to the Tiny Desk.

Laetitia Tamko, the artist known as Vagabon, is a 25-year-old, Cameroon-born musician with a big, tenor voice just bursting with new musical ideas.

August Greene, Common's new trio with Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins, brought some special guest vocalists to the Tiny Desk.

One of the greatest to ever bless the mic treated the Tiny Desk audience to an office block party.

The Afro-Venezuelan collective brings the boisterous parranda sound to the Tiny Desk.

The music of Nick Hakim occupies a space and time that feels out of this world, with songs that explore the quietude of inner thoughts.

Marlon Williams has a heart-stopping voice, is in love with a good, traditional blues or country tune, and writes songs about vampires and horror films.

The Crossrhodes showed up to the Tiny Desk with game faces on, bringing with it a locally cultivated, globally appreciated energy.

Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz never fail to mesmerize. Watch the twin sisters perform a four-song set at the Tiny Desk.

The music of Hurray For The Riff Raff builds bridges, unites people and forms communities. It's a spirit singer Alynda Segarra and the rest of the band bring to this memorable Tiny Desk performance.

This under-the-radar singer from the Dominican Republic is starting to turn some heads. You'll see why in this Tiny Desk performance.

The beloved singer-songwriter premiered three new songs while turning NPR's headquarters into a Harlem speakeasy.

In three songs celebrating black ancestry and self-love, Woods demonstrated just how adept she is at creating songs rich with philosophical meaning that also move and groove.

Eavesdrop on a beautiful recital of German songs from fin de siècle Vienna, when music was transitioning from the swells of romanticism to the uncharted waters of modernism.

George Clinton brought his family, both immediate and extended, to the Tiny Desk for a set of classic cosmic slop.

The singer performed at the Tiny Desk without a warmup or soundcheck, with just her acoustic guitar and un-amplified voice, letting the wordplay in her songs shine through.

The Malian musicians, who've been playing together for nearly 40 years, bring some of the most lyrical melodies and joyful sounds we've ever had at the Tiny Desk.

Brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario seem like they beamed into the Tiny Desk from the year 1971, untouched by the 21st century.

The Ontario-based singer has a gruff but sweet voice with openly honest words behind soulful tunes of hope.

More than a dozen artists gather behind the Tiny Desk to celebrate Memphis soul in a joyful, triumphant performance.

Julien Baker's Turn Out The Lights brought her much-deserved critical acclaim and wider attention in 2017. Before its release, we asked her to make a rare return to the Tiny Desk for something special.

One of the joys of listening to The Weather station is the tension and release in the group's enchanting music. It's what made the band's most recent album one of Bob Boilen's favorite of 2017.

The LA band's signature sound is intimate and demonstrative, haunting yet uplifting, an old-fashioned rock beat under glimmering guitar and keys. And at the Tiny Desk, it was at ease.

The indie rap denizen behind one of 2017's most inventive albums came to the nation's capital to represent all the Brick Body Kids who Still Daydream.

Frantic time-lapse set decoration. An intrusive snow machine. Ugly holiday sweaters. It's time to hunker down and soak up a raucous and reverent Christmas party, courtesy of Hanson.

Effortless storytelling is at the heart of This Is The Kit. And the stories the band's only permanent member, Kate Stables, weaves are profound but sweet with a tone that quietly reels you in.

This comes close to the quietest Tiny Desk Concert we've ever had. The music Cigarettes After Sex makes is incredibly hushed. It's a sound so minimal it barely exists.

Tyler, The Creator performs songs from his latest album Flower Boy.

The two singers, songwriters and guitarists bring out the adolescence in each other, poking jabs, goofing around and having fun at the Tiny Desk.

King Krule, the musical project of English singer, songwriter and rapper, Archy Marshall, brings its twisted, woozy tones to the Tiny Desk.

Leo's work has, more often than not through the decades, addressed an anxious world, growing and shifting with it and with its listeners. Seven years after his last solo album, he's turned inwards.

Best known for his role with The Walkmen, as a solo artist he makes unabashedly joyful, sweetly innocent and playful music. And only he would arrive with a barbershop quartet.

The Los-Angeles-based force of nature, one of the most inspired talents of today, shows off a spontaneous side at (and around) the Tiny Desk.

Her songs come laden with finely detailed observations about hypnotherapy, Jeffrey Dahmer and everything in between. They receive a languid, impeccably-phrased performance at the Tiny Desk.

In person, the master R&B vocalist impresses not just with her exquisite artistry, but with her radiant spirit of contentment and grace. Just ask her makeup artist.

With a knack for cunning juxtapositions, the adventurous pianist stitches together a baroque sonata, a slice of French serenity and a quirky portrait of a mysterious barn owl.

Billy Corgan, complicated frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins, has had a tumultuous decade-and-a-half. His visit to the Tiny Desk, with a string quartet backing him, was anything but.

Benjamin Booker has a deeply tender voice that, at times, can feel like a whisper But it always cuts to the heart.

The band has new tools in its arsenal, but even in a stripped-down Tiny Desk performance, its focus on tiny moments between people just outside of love is as sharp as ever.

The Portland artist with the most mispronounced name in hip-hop puts on an unforgettable performance.

Singer Laura Burhenn is joined by Jessica Lea Mayfield and the Umoja Choir for songs inspired by the political and cultural upheaval of 2016.

With the help of a backing band that includes Ivan Neville and Jenny Scheinman, the iconic singer-songwriter plays three songs from across her tough and uncompromising career.

The drums take center stage at this Tiny Desk. Watch veteran jazz percussionist Nate Smith dazzle the NPR audience in a transfixing performance.

The hip-hop statesman walked through our doors greeting and charming anyone within arm's reach. Once in front of an audience, he was in attack mode, including a unique rendition of his signature hit.

Gracie And Rachel mix piano pop with darker, classic violin arrangements to make songs full of mystery and tension. They're joined in this Tiny Desk performance by percussionist Richard Watts.

Yes, it happened. Black Thought, Questlove and the entire crew packed in behind the Tiny Desk to perform a new song called "It Ain't Fair."

The Grammy-nominated singer's Tiny Desk is an ode to a magical time in Mexican popular music.

For this Tiny Desk concert, Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner replaced her gauzy synths with a string quartet. The result is something to behold.

Hip-hop's otherworldly lot touches down on Bob Boilen's desk for some Afrofuturistic mind travel.

Watch hip-hop veterans Mr. Lif and Akrobatik team up behind the Tiny Desk.

Thundercat is willing and able to shape-shift to fit into just about any box you show him, but he won't stay in there for long.

Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson just celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band. To celebrate, watch them perform three of their post-"MMMBop" career highlights.

Watch the six-time Grammy winner go solo behind the Tiny Desk.

Landlady's music is more than sonic exploration, it's an adventure. The songs can feel a bit drugged-out – a bit high and full of curiosity – but never overly intoxicated or out-of-touch.

Paramore captures the moment between rapture and its comedown. Watch the band rearrange songs from its sparkling pop album After Laughter.

Welcome the world of Dawg Yawp, the musical concoction of Rob Keenan and Tyler Randall, where drones and toy pianos are likely to collide with heavy metal electronics and a well-placed melody.

The Jamaican reggae star proudly carries the torch of his country's roots reggae legends.

It's hard to think of an artist who's brought more joy to more people, across more generations — and in more ways — than Steve Martin.

Bomba Estereo is not known as a hushed band. Member Simon Mejia said this Tiny Desk performance was the group's quietest, a stripped-down treatment that illustrates the inherent quality of the music.

It's safe to say this Korean, cross-dressing rock band looks and sounds like no one who's ever performed at the Tiny Desk.

Snail Mail's sleepy songs have a way of waking you up. Watch the band perform music from its quietly stunning Habit EP, plus a new song played solo by Lindsey Jordan.

The story songs and poetry of Lookman Adekunle Salami, who writes and records as L.A. Salami, recall the brilliant and epic ramblings of Bob Dylan.

Jack Antonoff re-arranged three songs from his band's latest album, Gone Now, for the Tiny Desk.

The Nigerian-American MC and his band perform three reworked selections from Jidenna's impeccable debut album, The Chief.

The Alabama singer-songwriter and his band perform three songs from The Nashville Sound, but their set includes a few surprises, too.

One of hip-hop's most revered producers brings his songs to life behind the Tiny Desk, with the help of an 4-piece band.

ALA.NI captures and conveys a reverent love of early-20th-century music, while injecting those sounds with charisma and charm well suited for any era.

The Maryland singer-songwriter and viral star performs three of her best-known songs, including a sweet solo take on her career-making "Alaska."

Diet Cig's songs crackle like Pop Rocks, but with a confrontational honesty and striking gravity — and on top of Bob Boilen's desk.

Intensity in songs often expresses itself as volume – a loud guitar, a scream, a piercing synth line. But in the case of Aldous Harding it's in the spaces, the pauses, and her unique delivery.

James Mercer, the emotional and creative heart of The Shins, gives a moving performance at the Tiny Desk, with two new songs and a classic from the band's 2003 album Chutes Too Narrow.

Albin Lee Meldau possesses a thunderous, deeply affecting voice, which he uses to tell some utterly dark, but demonstrably cathartic, tales.

Rare Essence has been bringing go-go to the world since 1976 — the group brought that pedigree, and the genre's massive meld of funk, rhythm and blues and soul, to this raucous hometown Tiny Desk.

Tuxedo, the unlikely-on-paper funk-soul duo of Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, brought a left-of-center sonic approach and a sharp sense of style to their Tiny Desk Concert.

Fragile Rock is a band that relies on the boogie of The B-52s, the melancholy of The Smiths and the humor of Kermit the Frog. Oh, and they're all puppets.

Melina Duterte may have played all the instruments on Jay Som's newest record, Everybody Works, but her touring band brought a rougher edge to those silky recordings.

Chance The Rapper, fresh from a 23,000-strong, sold-out show the night before, brought a thoughtful and fresh take to his Tiny Desk concert.

Helado Negro ditches his bank of electronics for alto and tenor saxophones, bringing his utterly unique style to a intense, perfectly balanced Tiny Desk Concert.

Artistic legacy, evolution and studied ease coalesced at this Tiny Desk Concert, with Coltrane offering four interpretations of his and others' works.

Backed by a suitably low-key band, Macve would sound subtly radiant just about anywhere, from your nearest country bar to the most dreamily lit stage in Twin Peaks.

The duo strips down to acoustic guitar and keyboard for a strikingly intimate set, illuminating their close harmonies that tangle like garlands.

Penguin Cafe folds in sounds from around the world and throughout music history — Africa, Kraftwerk, Brazil and Franz Schubert.

The band's long-awaited performance at the Tiny Desk was both beautiful and, at times, intense, featuring three deeply personal songs by frontman Mike Hadreas.

While her band was on hiatus, Monica Martin joined Jeremy Larson's project Violents, yielding a lush record of electronic pop, translated into a quieted set at the Tiny Desk.

The Atlanta-based MC came through with the flu and coolly earned our praise. How sick is that?

What happens when you ask a hard-rock band to unplug its thunder? It draws power from a raw, desperate vulnerability.

Gabriel Garzón-Montano spent three years writing and recording his beautiful, dense album Jardin -- but for his Tiny Desk visit, he stripped it all down to two elements, the piano and his voice.

A restrained, whisper-soft Tiny Desk concert from Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin with songs taken from her debut album Don't Let The Kids Win.

Mexico may not be known for its jazz, but the young lions of Troker are a promising hope to make the country and its capital city a destination.

Tim Darcy of Montreal band Ought brings his mysterious solo work, from the album Saturday Night, to the Tiny Desk. The record he says, was his chance to "get back to my roots, in my own voice."

Danilo Brito and his band brought their dextrous expression of choro music to the Tiny Desk, a long-established musical style that has its roots in the streets and backyards of Brito's native Brazil.

"This song is called 'You Never Loved Me' — it's another cheery, optimistic number," says Aimee Mann, introducing the second of four songs in this Tiny Desk Concert.

A strange condition hushed the life of Peter Silberman, resulting in what may be the quietest Tiny Desk Concert ever.

The gospel-trained singer showcased why she counts Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson as fans.

The traditions of flamenco and jazz are disparate, but in the hands of a few Spanish jazz musicians, these two worlds commingle and find common ground.

I have a self-imposed rule for Tiny Desk Concerts: No artist can visit twice unless there's something wholly different about what they're doing. alt-J was happy to oblige.

Chicano Batman comes with a sound that perfectly captures dark lounges, quinceñera dances, car shows and backyard parties.

Composer, arranger and viola player Ljova lead his Kontraband to the Tiny Desk for an eclectic swirl of Western classical, jazz, tango and Eastern European and Balkan folk music.

You can hear a great New York jazz band in the rhythms of Sinkane, but you can also hear the influence of Bob Marley and the hypnotic repetition of Sudanese desert sounds.

It's astonishing to watch Sultana's fluidity on her instrument, like a natural extension of her body. She also plays bass, saxophone, trumpet, flute and more, but kept it "simple" for the Tiny Desk.

The power of language to penetrate a difficult subject, and the power of performance to share that language, are the gifts Noname brought to the Tiny Desk.

Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell's vibrant vocal harmonies are set against an electronic backdrop that feels spacious and refreshing.

This fierce and lyrical guitar player writes playful instrumental music led by hooky vocals — but there is no voice, just the human-like twang of a glass slide on a guitar.

A Tiny Desk Concert as intimate as it gets (that's saying something). Just Sampha, a piano and three heart-wrenching songs that seem to double as coping mechanisms.

Red Baraat come to the Tiny Desk in celebration of holi, the Hindu festival of color and love that welcomes the coming of spring.

Tank and the Bangas' victory lap around the Tiny Desk was momentous, celebratory and deeply touching, with a flair and alchemy of styles that could come from New Orleans.

One of the newest Grammy winners stops by the Tiny Desk to share her winking, sometimes tongue-in-cheek songs.

One of Israel's very popular artists maybe be walking a similar path to early-career Joan Jett — she brought that same intensity to the Tiny Desk.

To celebrate Fat Tuesday, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band brought their euphoric horns to the Tiny Desk for a raucous, joyous set.

Little Simz has been compared to Lauryn Hill for her self-reflective wordplay. And though the British lyricist is a relative new-comer, her Tiny Desk performance was poised and confident.

Agnes Obel manipulated the Tiny Desk to better suit the deeply alluring and powerful music she brought to us.

Esmé Patterson has dropped the banjos and folk from her previous project Paper Bird — in their place, electric guitars and a backing band worth getting behind.

Killer Mike and El-P continue to out-muse each other in a supergroup that somehow seems to get better, louder, and more pertinent since their start in 2013.

The rapper/singer storms the NPR Music offices, activating his signature smile and bouncing through five highlights from his catalog — including the smash single "Broccoli."

The rising R&B star performs three falsetto-drenched highlights from his 2016 debut, Ology — including "Bourbon," which features a guest rap from Chance The Rapper collaborator Saba.

Watch the Virginia band sweep the NPR crowd off its feet with a collection of exquisite boleros by Puerto Rican composer Sylvia Rexach.

The jazz band, known for its soulful interpretations of songs by Nas and Ol' Dirty Bastard, plays its own new material live in the NPR Music offices.

Cobb's words shimmer like a tall glass of sweet tea in the late-morning sun. Watch the country singer-songwriter perform four songs from his debut album.

With a voice that borrows heavily from opera, Downs performs the kind of full-throated mariachi singing that would fit right in at Mexico City's Garibaldi Square — ground zero for mariachi.

Hear McCaslin, the saxophonist and bandleader whose group backed David Bowie on Blackstar, near the anniversary of that album's release. Selections include an instrumental take on Bowie's "Lazarus."

Hear the spirited young singer-songwriter take on religion, poverty and politics, armed with just a guitar and some unrelenting hooks.

The nine-piece, family-centered band returns to the NPR Music offices to fill the air with fake snow and real joy.

Inspired by Toumani Diabate, the classically trained South African guitarist performs songs originally written for the kora.

The rapper has spent the year on an extended victory tour. Here are the spoils, recorded in a stripped-down set with a minimal backing track and longtime producer Zaytoven on keys.

In the band's hands, East African music pulses, breathes and comes alive in a mix of tradition and contemporary sounds.

Bringing the heat to the NPR Music offices, the R&B singer performs three funky, sexy, stripped-down songs from his debut album, Eldorado.

There's a confessional quality to the songs of Pinegrove that feels reassuring. Watch the New Jersey band squeeze four songs into a scrappy, warmhearted 13-minute set.

On the morning after Election Day, the Nashville musician and her band visited the Tiny Desk to play three cathartic country songs loaded with new political meaning.

Appearing in the NPR Music offices on the eve of the 2016 elections, the Canadian pop duo crafts acoustic versions of pop anthems like "Closer and "Boyfriend."

Watch the resourceful young string quartet navigate its way through smoke rings, alligators at Macy's, and the stormy fluctuations of the 18th century.