Watch: Oakland Singer Fantastic Negrito Wins NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Contest
For those unfamiliar, NPR's Tiny Desk Concert is an incredible series that brings musicians to their offices to play a stripped down set. Passion Pit has done one, Alt-J did one—even Macklemore laid down some vocals on one. To be asked to record one is a real honor for budding and established artists alike.
For the past few weeks, NPR has been holding a contest to give indie musicians the chance to find themselves on NPR's little stage. Today, they finally announced their winner: Oakland's Xavier Dphrepaulezz, who sings by the stage name Fantastic Negrito.
His video submission was shot behind a freight elevator in Oakland, and his voice had the stuff to beat lots of other contenders (about 7,000 of them, actually). "Though I watched thousands of videos," Bob Boilen wrote today, "the moment I heard his voice and saw such conviction to his song I thought, 'Wow, I think this guy could win.'"
Read more and watch Fantastic Negrito's winning submission here at Alice@97.3.