Lalah Hathaway NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

July 25 2018 Felix Contreras -- Lalah Hathaway comes from royalty Her late father Donny Hathaway's voice was crucial for my generation setting the bar for inspired old-school soul singing But living in that kind of shadow can also be a burden robbing the offspring of an identity apart from that of the famous parent The younger Hathaway's appearance behind the Tiny Desk pulls back the curtain a bit for a close-up encounter with her powerfully expressive voice The lower registers always draw me in and in Change Ya Life Hathaway's dusky contralto paints an exciting portrait of blissful cohabitation but on her terms I'm going to teach you how to treat me like I deserve she sings adding I'll give you the world She draws on a tradition of romance and sensuality in the best soul music but with a feminist twist that eschews old-school male-centric lyrics and attitudes Lyrics alone do not convey that kind of spirit It's in Hathaway's delivery self-assured yet vulnerable Boston her ode to her second home she's from Chicago is a meditation on self-discovery and longing The band electric piano bass drums perfectly straddles slow-jam R B and a jazz-ballad sensibility So much of the most powerful music from the Civil Rights Era wasn't about literal accounting of injustices many of those songs enshrouded morality plays in the guise of romantic longing Hathaway introduces the set-closing title track of her new album Honestly as an explicit reflection of my country at this time If you heard it for the first time without the introduction it comes across as a lover's lament But Hathaway's soaring vocals infuse it with the passion of resistance to bring her set to a close on a hopeful joyous note Set List Change Ya Life Boston Honestly Musicians Lalah Hathaway vocals Lynnette Williams keys Eric Smith bass Varo Johnson drums Credits Producers Abby O'Neill Morgan Noelle Smith Creative Director Bob Boilen Audio Engineer Josh Rogosin Videographers Morgan Noelle Smith Khun Minn Ohn Kara Frame Production Assistant Catherine Zhang Photo Eslah Attar NPR

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