I came across the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series a couple of years ago with Oddissee rapping a few tracks off his awesome album ‘The Good Fight‘. It was linked via Ambrosia For Heads, a Hip-hop website and I quickly became a fan of Oddissee and the concert format. Getting musicians to perform live is nothing new, but squeeze them into a tiny office space and things get up close and personal. I’ve picked a few of my favourite Hip-hop acts who really shine and show what it is to be a skilled lyricist as well as a musician. I’ve been to a few rap concerts in my time and they usually disappoint because of three things:

• Terrible sound settings
• Lack of crowd engagement
• Rappers/DJs cutting one another off or not finishing songs

Enjoy the following NPPR Tiny Desk Concerts by Oddissee, DJ Premier and Common.