Jazmine Sullivan — NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, 2021

Live filmed set by Philadelphia R&B and soul singer Jazmine Sullivan for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, the at-home format launched during the pandemic. Published on January 8, 2021 and produced by Bobby Carter, the performance was captured in a dimly lit, cabaret-like space, the artist in a trench coat and her band in all black. Sullivan showcases her project Heaux Tales, a bold conversation on relationships, desire, self-worth and the social norms women navigate. The program runs three reworked cuts from Heaux Tales — “Bodies (Intro),” “The Other Side” and “Lost One” — then “Let It Burn” from Reality Show (2015), before closing with guest H.E.R. on “Girl Like Me.” Backed by her vocalists Alisa Joe, Natalie Curtis and Ayana George and a soulful rhythm section, the set foregrounds a once-in-a-generation voice and deeply felt phrasing. Sullivan, a Philadelphia native who releases albums sparingly, uses the intimate home format to reframe material from a project that would go on to shape the R&B conversation of the early 2020s. This Tiny Desk (home) concert stands out as one of the format’s most acclaimed performances. Keywords: Jazmine Sullivan, Tiny Desk, NPR, home concert, 2021, live, soul, R&B, Heaux Tales, full concert.