We love when a Tiny Desk feels like a homecoming. redveil, a rapper and producer from Prince George's County, Md., moved to Los Angeles a couple years ago to further expand his musical ambitions. He comes back to the D.C. area, home of the Desk, with an evolved sound to perform a soulful set, turning his complex beats into jazzy, full-band arrangements.
In late 2025, redveil released sankofa, which means "go back and get it" from the Akan language of Ghana — to bring wisdom from the past into the future to make positive changes. That's the mindset of this performance. He speaks on his mortality with "time (a dream deferred)" and, on "lone star," reflects on summers in Texas with his grandparents. There's a desire to connect with his Caribbean roots on "history," which jumps right into the breezy love song "brown sugar."
As he winds down the set, redveil goes back to "campbell," the first track from his 2020 album niagra, which he released at age 16. To close out, redveil gets on the keys for "glimpse of you," a personal letter to his brother who lives with schizophrenia — the song crescendos into an emotional climax and on a note of hope.
SET LIST
- "time (a dream deferred)"
- "lone star (feat. Carolyn Malachi)"
- "history"
- "brown sugar"
- "campbell"
- "glimpse of you"
MUSICIANS
- redveil: vocals, keys
- Carolyn Malachi: vocals
- Fred Greene: keys
- Emmanuel Oke: guitar
- Imran Musa: bass
- Keith Butler Jr.: drums
- Michael Tumi Murphy: sax
- Isaac Burns: trumpet
- Jada Postell: background vocals
- André Lyn: background vocals
- Allayna O'Quinn: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producers: Joshua Bryant, Bobby Carter
- Director: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
- Video Editor: Kara Frame
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene
- Audio Engineer: Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Vanessa Castillo
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
Copyright 2026 NPR
