Bobby Carter
Bobby Carter is a leader on the Tiny Desk Concerts team for NPR Music. He's brought an ever growing roster of big names and emerging artists through NPR's HQ to squeeze behind the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen and record standout performances, including Usher, Mac Miller, Noname, Anderson.Paak and H.E.R.
From 2020-2022, Carter and the music team adapted to the challenges of the pandemic to produce the innovative Tiny Desk [Home] Concerts series with artists like Kirk Franklin, Tame Impala, Tems, Jazmine Sullivan and C. Tangana.
Carter has created new initiatives and programs to grow and diversify the Tiny Desk audience. He helped usher the Tiny Desk audience into new spaces through partnerships with Complexcon, HBO's Insecure and the 2021 film Coming 2 America. He also conceptualized a Black History Month Tiny Desk showcase in 2021. With that programming serving as a catalyst, he's since led the development of additional packages for Black Music Month, LatinX Heritage Month, Asian American/Pacific Islander Month and Indigenous People Month. His work in recent years has led to multiple Webby Award wins, an Anthem Award and a BET Hip Hop Award nomination. He's also a music writer, a judge for the Tiny Desk Contest and a busy veteran DJ (DJ Cuzzin B).
Carter originally joined NPR as an intern with NPR's digital media team in 2000, and soon after landed work as a digital media engineer. Following the launch of NPR Music in 2007 — while still working as an engineer processing on-demand audio and video for breaking news, special coverage, and live streams to reach all of NPR's digital platforms — Carter began writing end of year music roundups and producing Tiny Desk Concerts. He left his engineer role to become a full-time producer for NPR Music in 2018.
Carter hails from St. Louis, and is a graduate of Jackson State University, where he also worked at Member station WJSU while a senior in college.
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The Brooklynites stand out for their inventive and seamless blend of jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
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Our list of the year's best hip-hop is an encapsulation of a year awash in trolls and tabloid fodder, grief and grit and escapist fantasy, and also an attempt to extract meaning from the chaos. -
The singer stuns in her second appearance at the Tiny Desk, showcasing not only her vocal mastery, but her skills as a captivating multi-instrumentalist.
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The 26-year-old, who died Sept. 7, will not be remembered as a drug-addled entertainer, but as an ever-evolving maker of music who supported those coming up behind him. -
Mac Miller reflects on his journey's peaks and valleys in a boisterous set of songs from Swimming, featuring special guest Thundercat on "What's the Use?" -
Watch the R&B star-in-the-making perform three songs, including a guest appearance by H.E.R.
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The Crossrhodes showed up to the Tiny Desk with game faces on, bringing with it a locally cultivated, globally appreciated energy.
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In a year when big albums from hip-hop stars dominated the charts and streaming services, a few fire projects undoubtedly flew under the radar. -
The hip-hop statesman walked through our doors greeting and charming anyone within arm's reach. Once in front of an audience, he was in attack mode, including a unique rendition of his signature hit.
