Mick Jenkins: 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. Rodney Carmichael | December 10, 2021 Beneath Mick Jenkins’ smooth veneer lies a smoldering intensity. It comes across in subtle fashion, as he stays seated, cool and collected for the duration of his Tiny Desk (home) concert shot in Los Angeles. But like the embers glowing in the adjacent fireplace, you can feel the heat emanating from this brother’s soul. He opens his set with “Carefree,“ a song from 2020’s The Circus, that reminds us why living without a care isn’t a universal privilege for Black boys. The Chicago-bred MC then moves to songs from his newest release, Elephant In The Room. Backed by a four-piece band, Jenkins alternates between sung hooks and intricate wordplay during a set that