Lila Iké: 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.

Rising reggae star Lila Iké has an all-encompassing vibe, and you can feel it in this Tiny Desk (home) concert. Lila and her crew of musicians outfitted a home in Jamaica for this video, and the layout resembles the Tiny Desk's home in Washington, D.C. I was thrilled to see that Lila performed her hit single "I Spy" for this quarantine concert; it's full of the flair I've been missing the last several months. Lila's vocal agility can bend notes and transcend genres, the kind of voice that makes you want to turn to your friend at a show and say "Is she for real??" On "Solitude," she blends avant-garde R&B with contemporary reggae in a hauntingly elegant song complemented by violinist Sean "Ziah" Roberts. "Thy Will" (which borrows from the iconic reggae rhythm section Sly & Robbie) ends the set with an uptempo banger. I hope these vibes have a lasting effect and provide a tropical respite during the fall and winter months.

SET LIST
"Solitude"
"I Spy"
"Forget Me"
"Thy Will"

MUSICIANS
Lila Iké: vocals; Kristoff Morris: drums; Dane Peart: bass; Wade Johnson: keyboard; Stephen Forbes: percussion; Stephen Welsh: guitar; Ovasha Bartley: vocals; Tori-Ann Ivy: vocals; Sean "Ziah" Roberts: violin

CREDITS
Video by: Nickii Kane, Davy Freshh, Otraio Baker, Habibi Bailey; Audio by: Keinotain Johnson, Whitson Williams Jnr, Fumiaki "Superman" Ogata, Kwame Falconer & STT Entertainment & Production Ltd.; 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