Mac Miller — Tiny Desk Concert (NPR), 2018

Live filmed session by Mac Miller for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, recorded at the radio’s Washington headquarters in August 2018, weeks after the release of his album Swimming. In the Tiny Desk’s intimate format — behind the newsroom’s cluttered desk, no effects or playback — the Pittsburgh rapper performs “Small Worlds,” “What’s the Use?” and “2009” with a live band, joined on bass by virtuoso Thundercat. Far from studio production, this capture reveals an artist turned toward singing, keyboards and organic arrangement, in a soul and jazz-rap vein that marked a turning point in his work. Filmed weeks before his death, this live concert now carries a particular commemorative weight. A benchmark Tiny Desk, worth revisiting to gauge Mac Miller’s musical evolution in 2018 and the richness of his writing in a live setting.