One of the best things about NPR Music? Their oft-viral Tiny Desk performances. Since its inception in 2008, the platform has featured both big name and little known artists who have enraptured audiences both in-person and online.
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As you might expect, more than a handful of Black artists have graced the small stage with their talents and there have been countless good–and bad performances that truly left us all speechless, singing along, or side-eyeing hard as hell. Seeing that as the case, we thought it’d be fun to take a look back at some of the most memorable ones–whether they made you run it back several times or turn it off after a few minutes.
Keep reading to get into it!
Best- Usher
Why It’s the Best: It’s Mr. U-S-H-E-R R-A-Y-M-O-N-D. What did you really expect? For him to come in last? Be so for real.
Best- Doechii
Why It’s the Best: The way Doechii proved exactly why she earned that Grammy earlier in 2025 with this performance is just one of the many things I loved. This woman is truly breathing new life into the rap game and we can’t wait to see where she goes from here!
Worst- Amerie
Why It’s the Worst: God bless Amerie because she really was just trying to give a good show, but my goodness. That off-pitch “1 Thing” will live rent-free in my head for all the wrong reasons and I really hate that for her!
Worst- Rick Ross
Why It’s the Worst: While Rick Ross himself did what he needed to do, his background singer did THE MOST and that kind of made me tune this whole thing out. I mean, shoutout to him for maximizing his moment, I suppose.
Best- Maxwell
Why It’s the Best: I still can’t get over Maxwell singing “Pretty Wings” so pretty-like or him dropping it low out of my head since his Tiny Desk dropped. And if I’m honest, I don’t want it to ever go away.
Best- Charlie Wilson
Why It’s the Best: There will never be another Charlie Wilson or really anybody who knows how to bring soul and a level of sanctification to one Tiny Desk performance. Whew, this is one of them ones!
Worst- Tinashe
Why It’s the Worst: Even though I still love to get “2 On” to this day, I wanted to be the one to turn this Tiny Desk off. Something about it was just a little…off unfortunately.
Worst- Jeezy
Why It’s the Worst: While Jeezy is usually on point and bringing the energy, this Tiny Desk was lacking exactly that. Whether that was due to the crowd not being as hype as they needed to be or Jeezy himself seemingly not remembering his own lyrics–but this one didn’t slap.
Best- Leon Thomas
Why It’s the Best: Leon Thomas might as well be named as the Prince of R&B at this point because his Grammy-nominated album “Mutt” and this Tiny Desk is really elite for several reasons. Chief among them? His insane vocals and runs.
Best- Babyface
Why It’s the Best: I mean, it’s quite literally Babyface. There’s really no comparison or explanation needed.
Worst- The Dream
Why It’s the Worst: While The Dream would normally not be associated with anything called “the worst,” his lack of breath control and BACKGROUND SINGERS made me not enjoy this one as much as I wanted to. “I Luv Your Girl” would’ve slapped so much harder had those singer’s been there, man.
Best- Chaka Khan
Why It’s the Best: Chaka Khan solidified her legendary status with this Tiny Desk performance thanks in large part to her still sounding almost exactly the same and her range being both impressive and solid.
Worst- GIVĒON
Why It’s the Worst: Now while I personally enjoyed this one (and his album “Beloved” that dropped earlier this year), he was unfortunately a little more pitchy during his Tiny Desk a bit more than some viewers would’ve liked.
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