Tiny Desk Meets AFROPUNK is the electrifying kick-off to AFROPUNK's "Black Spring" festival. The virtual celebration, hosted by Jorge "Gitoo" Wright, features performances from ChocQuibTown, Calma Carmona, Luedji Luna and Nenny. AFROPUNK, born out of a 2003 short film by the same name, is an international movement and music festival centered on Black exploration and rebellion. Starting as a way to create space for the unacknowledged presence and influence of Black culture in a predominantly white punk scene, AFROPUNK has since evolved into a distinct, multi-genre experience.
"Black Spring" was created to spotlight outstanding talent in Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean music across the globe. The Tiny Desk Meets AFROPUNK program aims for the same. The showcase's four artists have come to the Tiny Desk to honor their homes and celebrate the art their heritage has inspired. Learn more about them below.
ChocQuibTown
"¡Tú sabes!" Carlos "Tostao" Valencia exclaims after Colombian hip-hop trio ChocQuibTown performs its second song, the energetic "De Donde Vengo Yo." "ChocQuibTown, straight from Colombia, from the Pacific coast," he says. "We call it Africa inside Colombia, we got the flavor, we got the flow." ChocQuibTown — named after the coastal area the trio hails from — is a family affair comprised of siblings Miguel "Slow" Martinez and Gloria "Goyo" Martinez, the latter of which is married to Valencia. In 2000, the trio formed to promote their neglected corner of Colombia's culture; today, ChocQuibTown's music blends the traditionality of Afro-Latin jazz with the modernity of hip-hop to create a singular, yet versatile sound.
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NENNY
With warm maroon box braids nearly sweeping the floor and glitter adorning her eyes, NENNY's presence demands full attention before she even opens her mouth. Dressed in a flowy, all-white outfit accented with a pastel checker pattern and surrounded by a matching four-piece band, the 18-year-old Portuguese singer-songwriter and rapper appears otherworldly, almost heavenly, as she harmonizes with her backing electric guitar and jumps across the room, dancing with her entire body. NENNY first appeared on heads' radar in 2019 with her single "Sushi." She's continued to impress with several more singles and the release of her debut project, 2020's Aura.
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Luedji Luna
"I feel that we are living in a crazy moment in a crazy time and music has been a safe place for me — the only safe place for me," Luedji Luna says in a low, alluring voice as she explains the purpose of her latest album, Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'Água. The album, much like the Brazillian singer-songwriters's Tiny Desk performance, is a respite from these times. Elements of jazz and blues are infused with African rhythms as Luna uses music to express her ongoing struggles for autonomy as a Black woman. She performs from her coastal hometown of Bahia in the city of Salvador, Brazil, where African culture flows in abundance. Luna is a powerhouse, entrancing and elegant, soulful and spiritual, as she uses her platform to discuss individual and systemic forms of anti-Blackness.
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Calma Carmona
From her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Calma Carmona delivers a bewitching Tiny Desk performance. Her voice rarely rises above a whisper as she sings over impassioned Afrobeats during her three-song set — but when it does, it's a gritty, intimidating growl. Carmona got her start in 2013 when the Latin soul singer-songwriter released her first EP and opened for Beyoncé's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in Puerto Rico.
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