pH-1, Mndsgn and Audrey Nuna: AAPI Heritage Month Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

This year, NPR Music's Tiny Desk is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a Tiny Desk (home) concert featuring performances from pH-1, Mndsng and Audrey Nuna. These artists represent just a sliver of the cultural diversity that exists within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, and each is performing a Tiny Desk concert for the first time.

Alex Ramos | May 20, 2022
Korean-American rapper pH-1 radiates much of the same visual warmth of his setting. It disperses around him, highlighting his bandmates, who are planted in the fringes of an intense blue backdrop. The contrast lends a sentimentality that's emphasized by the opening lines of his 2018 hit, "Homebody." Perhaps the setting — a nod to his parents who, after immigrating to the United States, found stable work in a dry cleaning business — makes the artist just a bit more wistful than usual. The song builds around its hook with cascading keys and airy guitars, insisting that hanging out at home is just as fulfilling as going out to party.

This tenderness anchors all three performances for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month edition of the Tiny Desk (home) concert series.

After pH-1 raps about staying in, Mndsgn (pronounced "mind design") argues for the opposite course in his song "Medium Rare." But the core idea of self-care rings true all the same. "Fear is just a comfy queen-size bed," he sings from a home studio, surrounded by framed art, records and plush animals. The Los Angeles producer and songwriter's voice is soft, floating above a spiral of dreamy, psychedelic instrumentation. It's hypnotic, but the message doesn't fade into the haze; you can start your quest for love and freedom at home anytime, he argues. Just follow two simple steps: "Get up, and start your day."

Finally, Audrey Nuna takes a raw cut from the deluxe edition of her 2021 album, A Liquid Breakfast, and builds on top of it. "molars" narrates the push and pull of ...