New Orleans rapper Juvenile NPR Music’s ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ performance premieres Friday

NEW ORLEANS (NOLA WEEKEND) - New Orleans rapper Juvenile will perform in an episode of NPR’s “Tiny Desk” Concert on Friday, June 30.

NPR Music announced Juvenile’s “Tink Desk” performance will premiere at 11 a.m. CT on Friday on the NPR Music Youtube channel.

“All the breadcrumbs have led up to this very moment, from Black Twitter to NPR HQ. This Friday, it’s getting 400 degreez hotter 🔥,” NPR Music said in an Instagram post.

A recent teaser video promoting the upcoming “Tiny Desk” concert revealed that New Orleans musicians Jon Batiste, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and former Cash Money Records producer DJ Mannie Fresh will join Juvenile for the highly-anticipated performance.

NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concert is a video series of live intimate concerts hosted by NPR Music at NPR’s Washington D.C. office. Musical acts come to play a show behind the desk of “All Songs Considered” host Bob Boilen.

Juvenile’s performance is a culmination of NPR Music’s celebration of Black Music Month with an array of “Tiny Desk” concerts featuring several Black artists all June.

Other New Orleans artists featured during this year’s Black Music Month included R&B singer-songwriter Ambré and R&B singer and actor Luke James, who participated as a background vocalist during R&B singer Tank’s set.

Juvenile’s participation in NPR’s “Tink Desk” concert resulted after his viral “WTF is a Tiny Desk?” tweet launched a campaign where fans encouraged him to perform on the concert series with a cult following on the internet.

In addition to performing on NPR’s “Tink Desk,” the rapper will grace the stage at Essence Fest in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Friday and Essence Family Day scheduled at Armstrong Park on Monday. The Essence Fest additions came after Juvenile recently called out organizers for excluding him from their 50th anniversary of hip-hop celebration.

Juvenile will also perform at his own Donna Fest, along with producer Mannie Fresh, Cash Money co-founder and rapper Birdman, Rebirth Brass Band and others at Urban South Brewery on July 2.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Juvenile’s multi-platinum album “400 Degreez,” released in 1998 on Cash Money Records. The record remains Juvenile’s best-selling album of his solo career and one of the best-selling albums by any New Orleans artist.

With chart-topping singles such as “Back That Azz Up” and “Ha,” the album was instrumental in exposing New Orleans bounce music to a mainstream audience.