Flatbush Zombies were the guests for the latest installment in NPR Music‘s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series. The new episode shared this week sees the Flatbush, NY-bred hip-hop trio joined by a full band to put a new spin on their songs, both old and new.
Since the shutdown of live music, the Tiny Desk series has gone remote by having artists tape their performances from their own homes. The presence of a small desk remains one of the few constants in new original programming as the public radio station continues to highlight fresh voices from across the musical spectrum.
Flatbush Zombies opened their Tiny Desk (Home) Concert performance with “when i’m gone” off the group’s now, more than ever EP. As the video fades in, fans are surprised to see a full band backing the hip-hop outfit, complete with backup singers, bass, drums, and keys. The first song finds a far more subdued Zombies, as they sit on the ground and a couch, while Zombie Juice‘s opening lyrics set a serious tone with “I just want some justice, I just want some peace/Everyday n*ggas dying in the streets.” The first offering shows how far the group’s songwriting and mentality has come since the early acid rap days that helped define their psych-hop sound.
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Next Flatbush Zombies threw things right back to that early psych-hop sound with “Palm Trees”, one of the group’s first hits that put them on the map. Yet, Erick Arc Elliot prefaces the throwback song by saying “Right now we want to do a song that all of you might know, or maybe not, but this is the first time you’ll hear it this way.” With that, the Zombies count off “Palm Trees” with a slower tempo which, when combined with the presence of a live band, made the almost-painfully familiar song something entirely new. The song slowly gets harder and more impassioned, however, as they couldn’t resist putting their full force behind the track that helped bring them to a national prominence years ago.
For the final offering, the group queued up their latest single “Afterlife”, released just last week. After introducing the band, whom they only just met but seem to have immediately hit it off with, the Zombies finally let their flag fly and stand up to perform, and Erick took control of the camera for a homemade feel. By the time they get to “Afterlife”, this Tiny Desk session has become a full-blown Flatbush concert with them getting completely behind the music and delivering it in the way fans expect. As much as the band tried to embody the prim, proper, and composed nature of Tiny Desk, they have to be themselves. Bob Boilen isn’t ready for this.
Watch Flatbush Zombies perform for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series.
Flatbush Zombies – Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
[Video: NPR Music]