Credit: Photo: Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR

This year's Black History Month celebration at the Tiny Desk features a carefully crafted lineup spanning many genres, generations and walks of life. Each artist represents the best in their class and will be performing at the Tiny Desk for the first time.

The powerful messages of her music, magnified by the strength of Tamela Mann's vocals, made for a tearful Tiny Desk concert. These were happy tears; eventually, Tamela herself, overcome with emotion, explained how singing her songs helps keep her faith intact. After closing with one of her signature songs, "Take Me to the King," she gave us some parting words of encouragement. "Let's just hold on to faith, hold on to hope, hold on to joy," she said, "because it still exists in our society."

The Fort Worth, Texas, native's calling was evident early in her childhood, wowing the congregation at Holy Tabernacle church by the time she was 12. Her career has since stretched far beyond music. After meeting Tyler Perry in 1999, she and her husband, actor David Mann, became integral to his explosion on the stage, television and film. Faith and family have remained at the helm throughout her decorated career, earning Stellar Awards and a Grammy. Her daughter, Porcia, coordinated their trip to Washington, D.C., while her daughter Tia sang background, and of course, David was in the audience entertaining the crowd before and after the show. It's impossible to tell the history of Black people in America without the gospel, and Tamela Mann represented at NPR headquarters.

SET LIST

  • "Finished"
  • "Change Me"
  • "Take Me to the King"

MUSICIANS

  • Tamela Mann: vocals
  • Tia Mann: vocals
  • Brittany Stevenson: vocals
  • Deon Yancey: vocals
  • Patrick Wright: keys
  • Phillip Bryant: keys
  • Johshun Griffin: drums
  • Jamaal Franklin: bass
  • Aaron Scott: guitar

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Director: Joshua Bryant
  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen
  • Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Elizabeth Gillis, Sofia Seidel, Maia Stern
  • Editor: Sofia Seidel
  • Audio Assistant: Brian Jarboe
  • Production Assistant: Jill Britton
  • Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Kara Frame, Ashley Pointer
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
  • Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags: Genre: Gospel  Tamela Mann  Series: Tiny Desk