Lyric Jones: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Lyric Jones is a culturally authentic and classic Bostonian. It's evident through her music and the insightful words she shares between songs that she's got a signature northeastern demeanor and the "true school" flow and lyrical content to match. With that demeanor also comes an unceasing work ethic, and Lyric makes it abundantly clear that her hustle is nonstop – writing, rapping, singing, drumming, engineering, and grinding it out to make Gas Money (the title of her latest album). This quintuple threat, trained in the Berklee College of Music's City Music program, recorded this Tiny Desk (home) concert from her studio in Los Angeles in May. Her multi-layered prowess is present on "Adulting" a song about the evolutionary growth that happens in your late 20s and early 30s. Lyric uses a TC Helicon vocal processor to create percussive beats, looping her voice as a backdrop and packing a punch with vocal harmonies and ad libs. In grappling with the pandemic, Lyric expresses the deep importance of this moment: "Whatever we put out in this time, in this era is a bookmark in history. Especially as musicians. ... For me, my personal testament, I want to be intentional. ... My children's children are gonna know about this time. And I want to know that I impacted it with intentional music, intentional thoughts, insights and perspectives." She is doing just that.

SET LIST

• "All Mine"
• "Adulting"
• "Lush Lux Life"

MUSICIANS

Lyric Jones: vocals, electronics

CREDITS

Video by: Lyric Jones; Audio by: Lyric Jones; Producer: Abby O'Neill; Audio Mastering Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey; Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.